Forget me
by 11Ava11
Summary: It's been a few years after the war and there's finally some peace in the world. But peace is only an illusion. The calm before the storm. Temari was sent to Konoha to attend some business but instead, she got sent on another mission to fill someone else's selfish void. What happens when that mission goes horribly wrong and how will it affect Temari and everyone around her?
1. Dreams

_A/N: Hey guys this is my first fanfic so I hope you like it and please leave a comment I would love to hear your opinions on this story. Please excuse grammar errors, spelling is not my forte and auto-correct is trying it's best. Enjoy :P_

● ***Flashbacks* / Dreams**  
● _Thoughts_  
●Normal

 _ **"When I was by myself I was fast asleep, but since you came around I was up for weeks" - X Chris Brown**_  
_   
Temari had always loved Konoha, it had a caring, loving, peaceful atmosphere surrounding it. She enjoyed the graceful sun on her skin, it was different from Suna's harsh sun, as she made her way to Konoha. Temari's endless walk finally came to an end as she saw konoha's proud gates appearing before her. She walked through the gates heading for the Hokage's office. She wasn't that often in konoha but she was there enough to find her way around the village to the Hokage's office, she was Suna's ambassador after all.

"Oi, troublesome." Someone called behind her making a smile appear on her face.

"Well if it isn't lazy ass himself." Temari called back looking over her shoulder with a smirk.

"The one and only." Shikamaru smirked back leaning against a wall in the shade.

"Well are you coming or not?" Temari asked turning to face him with her hands on her hips.

"Why whould I go anywhere with a troublesome woman like you." Shikamaru scoffed raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms.

"You're my escort, aren't you?" Temari smirked confidently walking to the Hokage's office.

"Troublesome woman." Shikamaru sighed pushing himself of the wall walking to her side.

"Oh and by the way, the Hokage's not here" Shikamaru shrugged, his hands in his pockets.

"What! Where the hell is he?!" Temari said irritated stopping dead in her tracks.

"Don't know, he told me he had some business to attend to and ran of leaving all his work for me to do." Shikamaru sighed hopelessly.

"Fantastic, what am I suppose to do now? I'm suppose to have a meeting with him." Temari said glaring at him.

"Well don't glare at me, it's my fualt." Shikamaru said defensively.

"It is your fualt you should've done your job and advised him." Temari said annoyed.

"Troublesome woman always giving me the blame, come on I'll show you the inn you'll be staying in and then we can get something to eat." Shikamaru sighed defeated.

"Fine." Temari said crossing her arms following Shikamaru.

"You haven't changed a bit since the last time I saw you." Temari mused.

She hasn't seen Shikamaru in a while since he was on a mission the last time she was in Konoha and she only comes to Konoha every three to five months.

"Neither have you." Shikamaru shrugged.

"And you're still saying troublesome." Temari sighed shaking her head.

"Yeah, especially when you're around." Shikamaru winked making Temari roll her eyes.

"Temari!" A voice called making Temari turn to Sakura who was behind them.

"Hey Sakura." Temari greeted with a smile while Shikamaru nodded his greeting.

"I haven't seen you in ages." Sakura said dramatically.

"Now you're over exaggerating Sakura it's only been like three months, Shikamaru on the other hand hadn't seen her in ages he hadn't seen her in eight months." Chouji said appearing out of nowhere earning himself a smile from Shikamaru.

"You've been counting?" Temari asked raising an eyebrow at Shikamaru and Chouji who's eyes widened slightly as they looked at each other.

"To troublesome." Shikamaru said answering for them both as Chouji nodded his head munching on his chips.

"But that's my exactly my point, it's been three months!" Sakura gasped joining the conversation again after eyeing Shikamaru and Chouji.

"Hey I heard Sasuke came back to the village, how's that going?" Temari asked Sakura curiously.

"He left again." Sakura said sadly.

"Really, why?" Temari asked not completely surprised.

"He went on a 'journey of redemption' and naturally he had to do it alone." Sakura said her face falling.

"I thought he was over that crap." Temari said rolling her eyes.

"He is incapable of overcoming his crap." Shikamaru snorted softly when Sakura looked down so he won't get smacked by Sakura but he did get smacked by Temari instead.

He groaned softly rubbing his arm and glared at a chuckling Chouji who whispered something to Shikamaru who glared at him in return.

"When will he be back?" Temari asked.

"Don't know he only said I'll see him soon." Sakura sighed.

"Anyway I've got to run, see you guys later." Sakura waved as she walked away.

"You coming Chouji?" Shikamaru asked smiling as they started walking again.

"Sure." Chouji shrugged munching on his chips.

"How's it going in Suna?" Chouji asked.

"It's good I'm just bored with all the paper work I have to do, there is absolutely no exiting missions." Temari sighed frustrated.

"It can't be that bad." Chouji said optimistically.

"If I was Shikamaru it wouldn't be that bad." Temari said smirking at Shikamaru.

"Troublesome woman I would throw myself out the window if I had to do paperwork." Shikamaru said rolling his eyes.

"And yet here you are still very much alive." Temari replied smiling.

"Troublesome woman." Shikamaru said.

"Lazy ass." Temari said grinning at him.

"Hey Chouji and Shika-sensei, who's this? Is this your girlfriend Shika-sensei?" A little girl with black hair and red eyes asked appearing out of nowhere.

"We're not dating." Temari replied bluntly.

"Sure you are blondie." The little girl said waving Temari off.

"This is not going to end well." Shikamaru sighed as Chouji nodded his agreement.

"Excuse me." Temari said glaring at the little girl who remained unaffected by her glare while Shikamaru just looked like he wanted to bang his head against the nearest wall.

"Mirai this is Temari, she is a friend from Suna and I am her escort." Shikamaru explained slowly and carefully to Mirai.

"How old are you kid, 4?" Temari asked annoyed.

"I'm 6, how old are you, 40?" Mirai asked glaring at Temari, both Chouji and Shikamaru flinched at that question.

 _Shit. Why do troublesome things always happen to me?_ Shikamaru asked himself numerous times.

"I'm going to kill you, you little brat!" Temari exclaimed lunging for Mirai.

"Shadow possesion jutsu!" Shikamaru stated as he quickly made the handseals and trapped Temari.

"You bastard." Temari snarled at Shikamaru while Mirai laughed at her.

 _If looks could kill..._ Chouji and Shikamaru shivered simultaneously.

"Uhmmm, let's go get ice cream Mirai." Chouji said awkwardly and kind of afraid of Temari taking Mirai's hand and leading her away from Temari.

"Calm down Temari." Shikamaru said as he started walking for the inn she will be staying at while Temari mimicked him.

"Do not tell me to calm down." Temari replied threateningly at Shikamaru.

"The least you can do is walk without your hands in your pockets, I don't have pockets." Temari said defeated yet irritated.

"My bad." Shikamaru said amused and removed his hands from his pockets.

"You can remove your jutsu know." Temari sighed.

"Are you calm yet?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes." Temari said feeling anything but calm but he released his jutsu anyway.

"Dammit Temari!" Shikamaru groaned clutching his head where Temari whacked him.

"You deserved it lazy ass, who was that kid?" Temari asked.

"That's Mirai Sarutobi, she's Asuma and Kuranai's kid." Shikamaru said looking at the sky.

"Oh, that's why she looks so odly familiar." Temari mused.

"Yeah." Shikamaru said.

"Well here we are." Shikamaru said as they walked into the reception area.

"Hey, I'm Subako no Temari..." Temari said to the receptionist.

"Hey, here are your keys, have a lovely day." The receptionist replied with a smile giving Temari her keyed after finding her name on the list.

"I'm first going to take a shower, you can wait in my room if you like but you can leave." Temari said turning to Shikamaru.

"Lead the way, I'll wait." Shikamaru said beckoning for Temari to go before him as they took the stairs to the second floor and found the room on the end of the hallway on their right.

"Make yourself comfortable, I won't be long." Temari said as she stored her stuff in the bedroom and left for the bathroom.

Shikamaru dragged himself to the living room and collapsed on the the couch, it was soft and was a warm velvet colour. He examined the room while he waited for Temari, it was a sleek elegant apartment with red coloured furniture, wooden floors and light brown walls. It had some plants standing in corners. The kitchen was linked to the living room with dark colours staining it. The bedroom was on the kitchens left and the bathroom on its right. Shikamaru quickly got bored and drifted of to sleep...

 **When Shikamaru opened his eyes he found himself under a tree in a grassy open field overlooking Konoha.** **He looked around and saw Temari standing at the edge of the cliff with her back to him.**

 **"What are you doing?" Shikamaru asked Temari boredly.**

 **"What do you think I'm doing." Temari said cryptically and uncharacteristically emotionless.**

 **"Troublesome woman I'm not a mind reader." Shikamaru said growing suspicious of her unusual behaviour.**

 **"Everything happens for a reason. The daily tragedies and misfortunes are all meaningful events, leading towards an ineffable event in time." Temari said almost mechanically.**

 **"What's that suppose to mean?" Shikamaru asked standing up and walking to her.**

 **"What do you think it means?" Temari said repeating herself.**

 **"It doesn't matter what I think, what are you thinking." Shikamaru said standing right behind her.**

 **"It's okay if you forget me..." Temari said out of the blue.**

 **"Why whould I forget you?" Shikamaru asked an unwanted answer tugging at the back of his mind.**

 **"You know why." Temari replied cryptically confirming his suspicion.**

 **"I don't want to lose you." Shikamaru said softly.**

 **"I don't want to be lost." Temari said sadly.**

 **Shikamaru was caught completely of guard and did not expect what was about to happen next. So when Temari leaned forward falling of the cliff like a rag doll he was too slow to react and catch her, he reached for her but it was already too late and she was already pummelling to the ground beneath.**

 **"Temari!" Shikamaru screamed as he dived after her without thinking it through and what he would do when he caught up to her, he took a page out of Naruto's playbook.**

 **Shikamaru quickly realised he responded to late and there was no way he could get to her in time.**

 **"Temari, grab my hand!" Shikamaru called desperately to a lifeless Temari as they both fell closer to the earth beneath them.**

 **Shikamaru cursed inwardly as he realised he and Temari was about to crash into the earth below and he was not about to abandon Temari but in the end he could not reach her in time and they where seconds from the ground.**

Shikamaru's eyes shot opened as he sat straight up gasping for air.

"Are you alright?" Temari asked worryingly looking up from her paperwork.

"I'm fine." Shikamaru sighed staring at Temari who sat at the kitchen table paperwork surrounding her.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" Shikamaru asked.

"Becuase you looked so peaceful and relaxed so I didn't want to wake you up." Temari shrugged.

"What time is it?" Shikamaru asked disorientated.

"About supper time." Temari smiled.

"Let's go get something to eat then, troublesome woman." Shikamaru said smiling a little as he got up.

Temari left her paperwork just like that and stood up and left the apartment with Shikamaru as they made there way through the streets of Konoha towards the food district.

"What where you dreaming about?" Temari asked curiously.

"I'm not completely sure." Shikamaru said not lying but not telling her the complete truth.

"Interesting." Temari said in thought.

"Extremely." Shikamaru said sarcastically.

"Must've been an unpleasant dream, you started trashing before you woke up." Temari mused.

"But you still didn't wake me up?" Shikamaru said with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey you could've been a rough sleeper for all I know." Temari said defensively.

"From all the years you've known me where I ever a rough sleeper and besides I'm too lazy for that." Shikamaru said bluntly.

"People change." Temari shrugged as Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"Hey Temari, Shikamaru!" Ino waved from the barbecue place as she saw them pass buy.

"Oh, hey Ino!" Temari called suddenly going in the restaurant dragging Shikamaru behind her.

"Troublesome woman." Shikamaru groaned.

The whole group was sitting at a table with Lee, Neji, Tenten, Ino, Sai and Sakura on one side and Shino, Hinata, Kiba and Chouji on the other side. Shikamaru sat next to Chouji while Temari sat next to him.

"I didn't know you where in town..." Ino said baffled.

"Well you do know." Temari shrugged.

"Temari, what a youthful surprise!" Lee shouted.

"Damn, he's still doing that?" Temari groaned.

"Always." Tenten said laughing.

"Hey Shikamaru where's Naruto? He's suppose to be doing some paperwork I need." Sai asked Shikamaru who froze.

"Didn't you say your going to do it Shikamaru?" Neji asked with a smirk.

"Yes." Shikamaru said bluntly.

"Oh well done lazy ass, in the end he ended up falling asleep on my couch." Temari laughed.

"That's very unyouthful indeed!" Lee exclaimed.

"Wait, you two are dating?" Kiba asked stunned.

"No Kiba we are not dating." Temari said irritated.

"Could've fooled me." Neji smirked.

"You're a pain in the ass, Neji." Shikamaru said groaning while Temari glared at him.

"Well you and Tenten fool us everyday." Ino laughed.

"Wait, you two aren't dating?" Temari asked stunned quoting Kiba.

"No, and why am I being dragged into this I did absolutely nothing wrong." Tenten asked crossing her arms.

"Oh Tenten honey." Sakura laughed at her.

"Come to think of it Neji..." Shikamaru smirked evily as Neji glared at him suspiciously.

"Didn't you say something about planning to..." Was all Shikamaru could say before Neji jumped up and put a hand over Shikamaru's mouth to cut of his sentence.

"If you say another word I will cut of your tongue." Neji whispered threateningly to Shikamaru nobody heard what he said except Temari but they still raised an eyebrow at his actions.

Neji retreated to his seat as Shikamaru struggled to contain his laughter and Neji continued glaring at him.

"What was that all about?" Temari asked Shikamaru softly.

"I'll tell you later." Shikamaru replied softly looking at a glaring Neji.

Everyone joked around teasing one another while they ate the food that arrived. It started getting late and the sun had already disappeared.

"It was great seeing you all again, but I should be going now." Temari said as she got up receiving a few aaww's.

"I'll walk you home." Shikamaru said as he stood up after her receiving some stares.

"I still think their dating." Kiba said nonchalantly after he saw Shikamaru and Temari leave the restaurant.

"I heard that!" Temari said annoyed sticking her head back in the restaurant slamming her hands togheter sending a mini controlled wind at Kiba's head resulting in his face hitting right into his food.

"Don't you think you overdid it a bit?" Shikamaru asked with a sweat drop as everyone laughed at Kiba's twitching face full of food.

"Not at all." Temari grinned as they left.

"Troublesome woman." Shikamaru chuckled.

"I know you love me." Temari said grinning at Shikamaru who blushed slightly and looked away.

"When are you leaving?" Shikamaru asked solemnly changing the subject.

"Don't know I was suppose to leave once my meeting with Naruto was finished, but he's not here, now is he?" Temari shrugged.

"You should come more often." Shikamaru said looking away.

"Out of all the villages, I come to this one the most and you could come visit Suna too." Temari said rolling her eyes.

"Probably." Shikamaru shrugged.

"Are you planning to get your own gennin squad?" Temari asked thinking of Mirai.

"Yes, as soon as Mirai graduate." Shikamaru said confirming Temari's thoughts.

"Isn't it too troublesome." Temari laughed knowing the answer.

"Nah, I promised Asuma." Shikamaru shrugged.

"Do you really have no idea where Naruto is?" Temari asked.

"No idea." Shikamaru sighed.

"Come to think of it, what was that back at the restaurant?" Temari mused.

"Oh, I was sorting missions the other day and Naruto wanted to assign Neji a mission but he declined becuase he wants to ask Tenten to be his girlfriend and was planning some sort of thing for her." Shikamaru smirked.

"I knew it!" Temari exclaimed triumphantly.

"Troublesome woman keep it down, you're going to burst my eardrum." Shikamaru said rubbing his ear.

"What mission was it?" Temari asked curiously.

"It's an undercover mission in the village hidden in the clouds." Shikamaru shrugged.

"But isn't it a little obvious if Neji goes becuase he has huge white eyes." Temari asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, we just pretended to give it to him becuase we knew he was planing something but he refused to tell us." Shikamaru smirked.

"Aaahhh sneaky, aren't we?" Temari said laughing.

"As always." Shikamaru winked.

"What the hell!?" Temari exclaimed as she saw smoke and occasional flames rising from the inn she was staying at.

 _Dammit!_ Temari thought as she started running to the inn with Shikamaru close behind her, she could not let her things burn and especially not her precious fan. Temari ran trough the blockade and firemen trying to stop her, no one was going to keep her from preventing her fan to burn.

"Temari wait!" Shikamaru yelled at her trying to grab her arm and keep her from running in the burning building but he didn't get a good grip on her and she simply shrugged him off.

"What the hell happened here?!" Shikamaru asked the receptionist who was freaking out next to him.

"Some idiot knocked over some candles in his room and started a huge wild fire!" The receptionist said panicked.

"Which room?" Shikamaru asked urgently.

"Room 27." The receptionist replied.

 _Dammit, that's right next to Temari's room, it's where the flames and damage is the worse,_ Shikamaru scowled to himself running after Temari. Even though there Shinobi a fire could still be extremely dangerous...

Temari dashed threw the raging fire emanating from the room next to hers kicking open her door, there was no time to search for her keys and unlocking the door, she rushed into the room and immediately grabbed the paperwork who was mercilessly untouched by the scorching flames. She stuffed the paperwork in her ninja pouch she was wearing and dashed for her room. She coughed from all the smoke as she ran in her room, the smoke was overwhelming and it made her eyes tear and restricted her breathing making her slightly lightheaded. She grabbed her fan from the closet and quickly fastened it to her red sash and grabbed all her clothes and stuffed them into her back and just as she turned to leave the building a piece of the roof fell and hit her head rendering her unconscious before she could even hit the ground. Shikamaru finally entered the room and looked around franticly. He saw the papers on the table where cleared meaning Temari must still be in her room. Shikamaru dashed to Temari's room his eyes starting to tear from the smoke. He looked franticly around for Temari and found her unconscious on the ground with a bulk over her body.

"Temari!" Shikamaru yelled but received no response from her unconscious body.

Shikamaru dashed to her side checking her pulse, relieved to feel her strong heartbeat. He removed the bulk off of her and picked her up bridal style and placed her bag on her stomach. He ran and avoided obstacles as he tried to leave the floor never mind the bloody inn. As he took his next step the floor caved in beneath him, he quickly jumped back avoiding the fall, it wasn't that he couldn't have survived it but he was worried about Temari getting hurt. He looked around for a way out because he would not make it if he had to jump that distance with Temari and her huge ass fan in his arms. There was no way out from what he could tell so he went back into Temari's room. He found a way out through the window, but it was not large enough for both of them to fit. He ducked and dodged through the stuff on the floor and the roof pieces falling. He finally reached the window and out the million ideas he was thinking of he had too choose one plan in a second or he and Temari will burn alive.

He knew out of the million of plans he had, this one was probably the most idiotic one of all but sometimes if you don't want to get burned alive you just had to take a page out of Naruto's playbook. He sighed and quickly took action as he threw Temari and her bag out of the window first and dived after her as soon as she was out of the window. And as he feared she was too far for him too reach once he jumped out the window. He cursed and made himself as straight as possible with his head closest to the gound too catch up to Temari's falling body. The ground was getting closer and closer, making Shikamaru shiver at the horrible memory of his all too familiar dream. Shikamaru finally caught up to her and grabbed Temari's arm pulling her up and over his shoulder as he channelled chakra to his feet and free hand. He moved his body so he could cling on to the wall with his hand and feet. Shikamaru caught the wall but that did not stop there fall it only slowed them down. When the ground came up underneath them they where slow enough for Shikamaru to land safely on his feet. He repositioned Temari so he was carrying her bridal style again as he walked to his apartment, picking up Temari's bag as he passed it...

 **Temari had no idea where she was and had no way of founding out because all she could see was endless blackness. She turned around she looked straight into her fathers cold eyes, turning her body to ice.**

 **"Temari, where were you when I needed you the most?" Her father asked her coldly.**

 **"Away, doing your selfish wishes." Temari scoffed crossing her arms.**

 **The next Temari saw completely surprised her, her fathers eyes widened slightly as blood trickled out his mouth and blood dripping on the floor from a wound that opened on his back. Temari was completely confused and taken aback as she uncrossed her arms.**

 **"Temari?" A voice said behind her.**

 **"Kankurou, what is this?" Temari asked as she spun around looking at Kankurou who was behind her.**

 **"Where were you when I needed you the most?" Kankurou asked sadly.**

 **Temari didn't reply she only stared at him shocked remembering just how useless she was when Kankurou was busy dying. History was repeating itself except this time Sakura was not here to help as Kankurou sunk to the ground as Temari rushed to help him.**

 **"Temari, where were you when I needed you the most?" Gaara said next to her making her stop dead in her tracks turning her head to look at her youngest brother.**

 **"Gaara." Temari said softly her eyes widening as she realised the pattern of her dream.**

 **And just as she expected, Gaara's eyes rolled to the back of his head as his lifeless body fell to the ground. It pained Temari to see her family being killed one by one right before her. She stared at Gaara as she waited for the dream to end, all the people she loved is already dead on the floor infront of her.**

 **"Temari..." A voice said behind her.**

 **Her eyes shot up widening in horror,** _ **this can't be happening, he hasn't died yet...**_

 **"No this can't be right." Temari said shaking her head in denial, this can't be a prediction, it's only a dream.**

 **"But it is, you just haven't seen it yet." Shikamaru said with a hard tone behind her...**

Temari's eyes shot open as she gasped and sat up looking around her totally disorientated.

"Look who finally woke up." Shikamaru said looking over his shoulder, cooking...

"You can cook?" Temari asked surprised forgetting completely about her dream.

"You finally wake up from a blow to the head and the first thing you ask is if I can cook? Yes Temari, I can cook, I live alone and if I don't make myself some food I will starve to death." Shikamaru answered amused.

"Fine, what happened?" Temari asked rolling her eyes but still curious about the answer.

"Well as the troublesome woman that you are, you ran straight into a burning building then got knocked out by a bulk that fell from the roof IN the burning building." Shikamaru said nonchalant and it all came back to her.

"Where's my fan!" Temari exclaimed alarmed standing up but sat back down because of a sudden piercing headache.

"Calm down your fan, as well as all your paper work and clothes, is fine. Everything is in my bedroom except your clothes I threw them all in the wash because they smell like smoke." Shikamaru shrugged.

"Thank you." Temari said softly out of relieve.

"It's okay troublesome woman but try not to run into a burning building next time." Shikamaru replied.

"I won't as long as important paperwork and my fan isn't in that building." Temari shrugged sitting cross legged on the couch watching Shikamaru cook.

"How long was I out?" Temari asked.

"About three hours." Shikamaru replied.

"What! I was out that long?" Temari said stunned.

"Yeah, this should help with your headache." Shikamaru said handing her some soup as he sat next to her.

"Thanks." Temari said taking the soup from Shikamaru and started eating it.

"Dammit it's hot!" Temari scowled burning her tong from the soup.

"Careful, it's hot." Shikamaru smirked.

"Gee, thanks." Temari said sarcastically glaring at Shikamaru.

"You're welcome." Shikamaru replied smiling at her from amusement.

"How did the inn burn down anyway?" Temari asked blowing on her soup before eating this time.

"The guy who stayed next to you bumped over some candles and caused a fire." Shikamaru shrugged.

"Idiot." Temari said rolling her eyes.

"Do you have something I can sleep in?" Temari asked Shikamaru.

"What's wrong with your clothes?" Shikamaru asked back with a raised eyebrow.

"They're either wet or smell like smoke genius." Temari said bluntly.

"Right." Shikamaru said as he stood up and walked to his room.

Temari was still sitting on the couch eating her soup waiting for some clothes she could wear after showering. Temari felt slightly like an idiot, she was an excellent Shinobi if she do say so her shelve, but she got knocked out by a bloody bulk that fell from the roof. She could not believe she was that careless that sort of mistake could cost her her life. It almost did but luckily Shikamaru was there to save her ass.

"Here you go." Shikamaru said throwing a bundle of clothes at Temari who cached it as he returned from his room.

"Thank you." Temari said singing the last word slightly.

Temari slurped the last of her soup and handed the bowl to Shikamaru as she passed him taking the clothes Shikamaru gave her and headed for the bathroom.

"Do I look like your personal maid, troublesome woman." Shikamaru said glaring at Temari's back as he sat on the couch again groaning.

"Maybe, but you do make a bloody good one. Hey, maid where the hell is your bathroom?" Temari asked peeking her head in the living room.

"Go find it yourself. Troublesome woman." Shikamaru scoffed irritably standing up to wash Temari's bowl.

"I take it back, your a useless slave." Temari glared at Shikamaru then turned to search for the bathroom.

"Oh now I'm a slave, well that escalated fast." Shikamaru called sarcastically to Temari.

"Hell yeah and by the way I found the bloody bathroom without your help, lazy ass." She called back closing the door and running the shower as she peeled out of her clothes.

Temari cleared her mind as she stood under the stream of relaxing warm water. The water was gloriously relaxing as she could feel the stress leaving her body. She could've stood in the shower for hours but she had to get out eventually because Shikamaru still had to shower and if she didn't get out soon he would have no warm water, so she regrettingly got out. She dried herself of with the towel next to the shower and got dressed. She kept her underwear on and pulled Shikamaru's shirt over her head tugging it down. The shirt was hopelessly to big for her and she could practically wear the shirt as a dress. It was a warm night so she decided to only wear the shirt since it covered everything. Temari took her clothes in a bundle and left the bathroom to throw the rest of her clothes in the washing machine.

"I'm done." Temari said as she walked past Shikamaru.

"I can see that." Shikamaru said as his eyes strayed to her legs and damn did she look good in his shirt.

"Oi, my face is up here." Temari said annoyed as she turned to glare at him.

"I'm aware of that." Shikamaru said bluntly as he looked up at her annoyed face.

She rolled her eyes and turned back again to go to where she thought the washing machine was as Shikamaru's eyes strayed back down again as soon as she turned her back to him.

"The washing machine is the other way, next to the kitchen." Shikamaru called lazily to Temari who tensed up.

"Ugh, stupid small apartment and stop looking at my ass!" Temari exclaimed in frustration glaring at Shikamaru.

"Then you should get some pants." Shikamaru replied bluntly.

"No." Temari said slowly glaring at him as she spun around trotting to where Shikamaru said the washing machine was, annoyed at not having a come back.

"Don't break the floor on the way there, it's troublesome to fix a floor." Shikamaru chuckled at a now fuming Temari.

"The floor won't be the only thing I break!" She exclaimed irritated as she found a broom and aimed it at Shikamaru's head who barely avoided it as he rolled of the couch falling on the floor.

"Damn troublesome woman." Shikamaru sighed tilting his head back to see Temari glaring at him as she passed him heading for his room.

"Oh sure just take MY bed and leave me on the cold floor." Shikamaru said sarcastically rolling his eyes, but in the end he would've let her take his bed anyway.

"You can sleep in damn snow for all I care." Temari scoffed.

"Goodnight troublesome woman." Shikamaru called boredly standing up to take a shower.

"Goodnight lazy ass, don't let hypothermia bite your ass on the way to dreamland." Temari called back making Shikamaru smile slightly as he headed to the bathroom and after a few minutes of silence Temari drifted of to sleep.

 **Temari opened her eyes and found herself in the familiar black abyss again. Temari looked around her and found that her dream had began where it ended. She didn't like this one but as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.**

 **"This is just a bad dream..." Temari said to herself as she exhaled.**

 **"Is that really what you believe?" Shikamaru asked sounding amused.**

 **"Yes." Temari said stubbornly.**

 **"Of course you do." Shikamaru said not sounding convinced. "If this is all just a bad dream then turn around."**

 **"Why? I can do just what I want, this is my dream after all." Temari said crossing her arms, she didn't want to turn around because she really did not want to see Shikamaru die.**

 **"This isn't your dream Temari, it's reality." Shikamaru said nonchalantly.**

 **"If it's reality then way is Gaara and Kankurou dead, my father I can understand." Temari said narrowing her eyes.**

 **"Can't you see Temari? They did die, they just got their life back in the end." Shikamaru said like it's obvious.**

 **"Then why are you here? You didn't die, now did you?" Temari asked tired of this nonsense.**

 **"No I didn't, but I am going to die." Shikamaru said as he shrugged.**

 **"When?" Temari asked her eyes widening.**

 **"Look at me." Shikamaru said seriously in a low voice.**

 **"Answer me first." Temari replied.**

 **"Dammit Temari, look at me!" Shikamaru yelled surprising Temari, she has never heard him yell before.**

 **She turned around slowly looking at the ground as she turned her head first and after her whole body faced Shikamaru she finally looked up flinching at the sight of him. She wanted to give into the urge of looking away but she forced herself to keep her eyes on him, she wanted to be able to react immediately if something happened. She was amazed that he was still able to speak never the less stand, he was completely covered in nasty bruises and gashes where his blood oozed out. His hair was dishevelled and it looked like it took all of his energy just to keep himself up as he looked at the ground.**

 **"What happened?" Temari asked softly as she gasped.**

 **"It was a perfect storm..." Shikamaru mused chuckling out of amusement but soon started gagging on the blood that was now starting to drip out his mouth.**

 **"What?" Temari frowned walking to Shikamaru but Shikamaru stepped back causing him much pain.**

 **Temari stopped walking to him not wanting to cause him more pain, but it pained her to just look as he bled out falling on one knee not being able to keep himself up anymore. Temari took a step towards him but stopped when he snapped his head up glaring at her, warning her to stop.**

 **"It was one of those stormy nights where everything that could go wrong would go wrong, but ultimately that begs the question of where you were when I needed you the most? Shikamaru asked his glare turning into a look of pain giving Temari the chance to walk calmly to his side and help him.**

 **"I don't know Shikamaru." Temari said sadly in a soft voice as she sat on her feet and knees behind him putting her hands on his shoulder pulling him back gently so he can lay down using her legs as a cushion.**

 **"You killed me Temari." Shikamaru said hurt cutting at his tone, as soon as the words left his mouth it felt like someone punched Temari in the gut.**

 **"No." Temari gasped in horror and when she looked down at Shikamaru she could see the light leaving his eyes.**

 **"Shikamaru please don't die, stay with me." Temari said desperately placing her hand on his cheek.**

 **"To late for that now." Shikamaru said barely audible as his last breath left him leaving Temari staring in his lifeless eyes tears threatening her eyes...**

"No!" Temari screamed as she shot up in her bed gasping for air as she hung her head with wide shocked eyes.

"What's wrong?!" Shikamaru asked alerted as he stormed into the room minutes later shirtless looking around.

"It's nothing, just a bad dream." Temari sad softly closing her eyes and taking a deep breath feeling better at seeing Shikamaru alive.

"Want to tell me about it?" Shikamaru said crossing his arms and leaning against the door frame.

"No." Temari said shaking her head as Shikamaru turned to leave.

"Shikamaru?" Temari called him back.

"What is it?" Shikamaru asked as he turned to look at her.

"Please stay." Temari said barely audible looking down at her lap.

"Sure." Shikamaru said as he walked over to her.

"Are you really not going to tell me what had unsettled you that much?" Shikamaru asked as he made himself comfortable on his bed.

"Are you really not going to get a shirt?" Temari teased poking him in the rubs.

"I'll get a shirt if you get pants." Shikamaru shrugged.

"Too troublesome, now shut the hell up, I'm trying to sleep." Temari mocked Shikamaru as she turned her back on him.

"Okay then, sweet dreams." Shikamaru said with a smile mocking her.

She backhanded him from where she was laying smacking the wind out of his lungs but he only laughed at her.

"Shut up and stay on your side." Temari said glaring at him.

"Yeah, yeah." Shikamaru said shrugging her of but after a couple of minutes she was fast asleep again, Shikamaru's presence made her feel better because she could see that he was in fact alive.

 _A/N: OMG I am finally done with this chapter, it took me like the whole month to finish this bloody chapter, but I kinda got side-tracked by YouTube... oops. Anyway please leave a comment and I will try to post the next chapter AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, but please be patient, this shit takes time and keep in mind I am only human and I get distracted, ALOT. Plus I have school -_- and a life, but NEVER DOUBT ME! Your fantastic author signing out :P oh and b.t.w. I think there's a problem with the end of the story because it's correct in my documents but when I view it at my stories the ending is in bold and it's not suppose to be in bold..._


	2. DEPARTURE

_**"Strong enough to leave you**_  
 _ **But weak enough to need you**_  
 _ **Cared enough to let you walk away" - In case Demi Levato.  
**_ _ **_**_

It was a beautiful morning with birds singing and the warm sunlight streaming in the window as Temari was slowly waking up, but it was not the sunlight or birds that was waking her up it was the soft constant knocking sound. 

After a while Temari registered that the cause of the knocking was someone at the door, but she was hopelessly too comfortable too answer, besides said person will go away eventually, Temari thought to herself as she snuggled closer to her pillow while the pillows arm tightened around her waist. 

"I know you're in there Shikamaru." Said person called from the door. 

_How can he possibly know that_ , Temari groaned deciding to keep ignoring said person. Temari's foggy mind was finally starting to wake up as she opened an eye. Temari realised two things at that moment, firstly that comfortable pillow she was snuggling was actually Shikamaru and secondly she new the said person at the door... 

Neji. 

Temari raised her head of Shikamaru's chest slightly, listening if Neji was stil there. 

"Temari, mind waking Shikamaru up for me?" Neji called from the door, amusement laced in his voice. 

_Dammit!_ Temari thought as she banged her head on Shikamaru's chest. 

"Shikamaru wake up." Temari said as she nudged him but only received a groan as he attempted to pull her closer but failed when her foot connected with his ribs sending him flying of the bed. 

"I said wake the hell up lazy ass!" Temari exclaimed from the bed glaring at a grumpy Shikamaru on the floor. 

"And I told you to stay on your side!" Temari exclaimed glaring at Shikamaru who glared at the roof. 

"I was on my side." Shikamaru said bluntly rubbing his eyes with the palm of his hands. 

"Just get the bloody door." Temari said annoyed. 

"Why don't you get the door?" Shikamaru groaned still on the floor. 

"Have you seen how I look plus it's your apartment." Temari said rolling her eyes. 

"Who's at the door?" Shikamaru sighed on the floor. 

"Neji, now get your lazy ass to that door." Temari said threateningly. 

"I'm going troublesome woman." Shikamaru said glaring at Temari as he stood up walking to the door cursing inwardly at the fact that Neji, out of all people, is at his door. 

"What do you want?" Shikamaru said as he opened the door glaring at the start of his problem. 

"Well good morning to you too." Neji said smirking. 

"Go to hell Neji." Shikamaru sighed. 

"Slept well last night? What happened to your shirt?" Neji asked slyly. 

"Neji, do you sleep with a shirt in the middle of summer?" Shikamaru asked bluntly. 

"No." Neji replied crossing his arms. 

"My point exactly, now what do you want?" Shikamaru asked boredly. 

"Good morning Temari, nice outfit, I see where Shikamaru's shirt went now." Neji smirked looking over Shikamaru's shoulder at Temari who tried to sneak past to the washing machine to get her clothes. 

"Go to hell Neji." A fuming Temari answered while Shikamaru rubbed his templates. 

"This is troublesome. What do you want Neji?" Shikamaru sighed. 

"Naruto's back and he wants to see you." Neji said. 

"Troublesome, give me a minute." Shikamaru said heading for his room leaving the door open as Neji made himself comfortable on the couch. 

"Don't you have something planned with Tenten or something?" Temari glared at Neji as she returned with her clothes. 

"He told you." Neji stated returning her glare. 

"He did." She smirked at him. 

"I'm cutting out his tongue." Neji scoffed. 

"And I'm cutting out your eyes." Temari replied smiling. 

"Shikamaru's right, you are troublesome." Neji said crossing his arms.

"Well aren't you the observant one?" Temari smirked amused. 

"Poor Shikamaru, you're a handful." Neji said shaking his head. 

"But that's what he got two hands for." Temari grinned leaving Neji to roll his eyes while she went to change. 

"Shikamaru, hurry up." Temari groaned knocking on the bedroom door impatiently. 

"What do you want troublesome woman." Shikamaru said as he suddenly opened the door causing Temari to almost hit hom in the face. 

"I want to change." Temari said bluntly as she looked at Shikamaru's nicely shaped chest also noticing his hairs down. 

"I'm almost done." Shikamaru said going back into his bedroom leaving the door open for Temari who made herself comfortable on his bed waiting for Shikamaru to leave. 

"Are you just going to stare at me the whole time?" Shikamaru asked pulling on a shirt. 

"Yes, I'm waiting for you to leave, besides it's not every day Shikamaru Nara has his hair down." Temari smirked at him. 

"Being thrown out of my own room, how troublesome and shame goes for you, when has Temari no Subaku ever had her hair down?" Shikamaru said raising a eyebrow at her as he went to the bathroom. 

"Dammit Shikamaru do you live in a cave? You could've at least close the door behind you." Temari said annoyed going to the door to close it glaring at Shikamaru. 

"Well I do live alone, besides who's lazy now." Shikamaru shrugged. 

"Still you lazy ass." Temari said closig the door. 

Temari changed out of Shikamaru's shirt and into her usual black kimono and just when she finished Shikamaru came in. 

"Didn't your mother learn you to knock before coming in, I could've been naked for all you know." Temari said glaring at him with her hands on her hips. 

"Would that really be such a bad thing." Shikamaru shrugged with a smile dodging her shoe that she aimed as at his head but Shikamaru retaliated by shooting her with hair ties. 

"What the hell are you doing?" Temari asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"I thought you wouldn't mind some hair ties." Shikamaru smirked. 

"You could've given them to me like a normal person but thanks." Temari said laughing. 

"Probably, see you later." Shikamaru said shrugging as he walked to Neji who was still probably on the couch. 

"You could've passed me my shoe on the way out you know!" Temari called to Shikamaru. 

"Too troublesome." He called back making her roll her eyes. 

"Are you kidding me Neji." Temari heard Shikamaru said to Neji annoyed as she tied her hair, he was probably watching there every move with his byakugan. 

Shikamaru rolled his eyes at an amused Neji as they left his apartment for Naruto's office. They where almost at the office when Shikamaru couldn't take it anymore. 

"What Neji?" Shikamaru asked frustrated. 

"What?" Neji asked. 

"Why are you staring at me?" Shikamaru asked narrowing his eyes at Neji. 

"I thought you're going to die alone." Neji smirked.

"This is troublesome." Shikamaru said giving up as they traveled in silence. 

"Well guess who decided to finally show up." Shikamaru said with a smile as he entered Naruto's office. 

"Shikamaru! What took you so long?" Naruto said impatiently while Shikamaru rolled his eyes. 

"He was preoccupied." Neji smirked as he came in. 

"This oughta be good." Naruto smiled leaning back in his chair while Hinata stood silently behind him waiting for Neji to continue. 

"Shikamaru was too busy cuddling with his girlfriend." Neji smirked causing Shikamaru to sigh, Hinata getting a surprised look and Naruto falling of his chair almost hitting Hinata. 

"What? Shikamaru has a girlfriend, why don't I know about this?" Naruto said with a hurt expression. 

"Becuase I don't have one, Naruto next time you want to see me please just send Hinata, she at least minds her own business." Shikamaru said rubbing the bridge of his nose glaring at Neji at the last part. 

"Oh that's not what I saw." Neji said mocking Shikamaru. 

"What did you see Neji?" Naruto asked curiously. 

"This is troublesome." Shikamaru sighed. 

"Well when no one answered the door I used my byakugan to see where Shikamaru was and I found him in his bed cuddling with guess who?" Neji said. 

"Who?" Naruto said totally caught up in the story with wide eyes. 

"Temari." Neji said. 

"Oh man I forgot she was in town." Naruto said grabbing his head.

"Yeah you're gonna hear about that later." Shikamaru smirked finding joy in his misery. 

"Plus Shikamaru was missing a shirt and Temari was only wearing a shirt, Shikamaru's shirt." Neji Continued. 

"No." Naruto gasped like a teenager. 

"Yes." Neji shook his head. 

"Grow up you two, besides both of you sleep without a shirt, right Hinata?" Shikamaru smirked at Hinata who turned pink. 

"Don't answer that Hinata, it's a trick question." Naruto said eyeing shikamaru causing Neji to facepalm himself. 

"Idiot you just answered it for her." Shikamaru laughed. 

"I think I'll just go now, Neji why won't you come with me." Hinata said leaving quickly while tagging her cousin along so he wouldn't patronise Shikamaru any further. 

"Sure." Neji said following his cousin. 

"Admit it Shikamaru you like Temari!" Naruto exclaimed loudly as Neji and Hinata left making Shikamaru sneeze. 

"Sorry I'm allergic to bull shit, besides I know you have something to admit about a certain hyuga heiress." Shikamaru said with a raised eyebrow. 

"I will admit no such thing." Naruto said with narrowed eyes. 

"Anyway what do you need Naruto?" Shikamaru asked. 

"Just someone to suffer with me while WE do paperwork." Naruto grinned handing Shikamaru half of the paperwork on the table. 

"Damn troublesome hokage." Shikamaru said with a glare as he dragged a chair to Naruto's desk and took half the space to work. 

"You know Shikamaru the people you love might not always be there, there will come a time when they will not be here anymore, that's why you gotta tell them how you feel while they're still here." Naruto said while Shikamaru filed some papers by the bookshelf. 

"Naruto don't jinx anything if anything happens I'm going to kick your ass, besides take your own advise." Shikamaru said rolling his eyes just as Naruto got a look of inlightement and smiled. 

"Shikamaru, I got a mission for you." Naruto grinned. 

"How troublesome, what mission?" Shikamaru asked. 

"First go get Temari, will ya?" Naruto grinned wider if that was even possible. 

"Why?" Shikamaru asked confused. 

"She's going with you of course, I'll explain when you get back." Naruto laughed at a very confused Shikamaru who simply applied to Naruto's wishes. 

Shikamaru left Naruto's office an houer ago searching for Temari but as luck whould have it he couldn't find her anywhere. Shikamaru gave up, he looked absolutely everywhere for that dam troublesome woman but she was nowhere. 

"Where the hell is she?" Shikamaru moaned as he fell on his back on the grassy hill close to his parents house. 

"Where the hell is who?" Temari asked repeating him coming out of nowhere. 

"Where the hell were you?" Shikamaru asked irritated lifting his head to look at her. 

"Actually I was at your parents house." Temari shrugged. 

"What!" Shikamaru exclaimed in horror. 

"What the hell did you do there?" Shikamaru asked mortified. 

"Your mother saw me and invited me for tea." Temari answered. 

"Why?" Shikamaru asked with narrowed eyes. 

"Don't know, hospitality?" Temari shrugged. 

"Troublesome." Shikamaru sighed, he had an idea his mother had alterior motives. 

"You know you where adorable when you where little." Temari laughed. 

"You've got to be kidding me." Shikamaru sighed rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands groaning. He never resented his mother this much till this point in time. 

"Well lazy ass what do you want?" Temari asked with her hands on her hips towering over Shikamaru. 

"Naruto wants to see you." Shikamaru said bluntly. 

"Finally, took the damn idiot long enough." Temari exclaimed spinning around walking to Naruto's office. 

"Well come on." Temari called back to Shikamaru who was lying on the grass ignoring her. 

"Shikamaru, if you don't get your lazy ass over here right now you won't live long enough to regret it." Temari said threateningly in a low tone. 

"Calm down, I'm coming troublesome woman." Shikamaru sighed with a bored facial expression as he stood up slowly and walked over to an impatient Temari. 

"Do not tell me to calm down when you're the one making me mad, now pick up the pace." Temari said as she started jumping from roof to roof. 

"What's the rush?" Shikamaru asked next to her. 

"I'm going to smack Naruto so hard the bloody previous Hokage's are going to feel it." Temari growled. Shikamaru had absolutely no sympathy for Naruto but he did feel sorry for Kekashi even thought it was impossible for Kekashi to feel it. 

"Sorry to disappoint you Temari, but Naruto is still the Hokage and you are not aloud to smack a Kage especially not from another village." Shikamaru said knowing that's not going to stop her. 

"Watch me." Temari said determined confirming Shikamaru's line of thought.

"Troublesome woman." Shikamaru sighed. 

"Don't worry, I'll bring you some proper food the day you get thrown in jail." Shikamaru chuckled. 

"How considerate of you, but I'm not going to jail." Temari laughed. 

"I'm totally calling it." Shikamaru smirked. 

"Don't jinx it, if I land in jail I'm blaming you." She laughed hitting him on the arm softly as she started running faster. 

"What now?" Shikamaru moaned starting to go faster too. 

"If I'm at the office first you won't be able to stop me from smacking your precious Hokage." Temari smirked challeging him. 

"Troublesome woman, I don't need to be first to stop you." Shikamaru smirked back. 

"That's unfair Shikamaru, let's see how you fair when I start using my jutsu's." Temari smirked back. 

"You wouldn't." Shikamaru said with wide eyes. 

"Oh, I whould." Temari grinned as she pulled her fan of her back unfurling it in one quick motion as she turned around and swung it sending a small controlled gust his way. 

"Troublesome woman." Shikamaru grunted as the gust of wind slowed him down. 

As they sped towards Naruto's office Temari was still in the lead with Shikamaru behind her dodging her winds. Temari stopped throwing winds at Shikamaru when she leapt for Naruto's open window aiming her fan at a unsuspecting Naruto's head. Temari was so close when she felt a shadow tendril wrap around her waist giving Shikamaru time to catch up to her. Temari cursed and a second later it dissipated making Temari smirk and just when she was about to bring her fan down on Naruto's head she felt Shikamaru tackle her from behind sending them flying over Naruto's head and tumbling to the ground infront of Naruto. Naruto had never looked so confused as he watch them rolling on the ground struggling for control then finally standing up. 

"I win." Shikamaru smirked. 

"Dammit Shikamaru this is the second time you use that bloody just on me! And you." Temari glared at Shikamaru from the corners of her eyes then turned her attention to a cowering Naruto. 

"We where suppose to have a meeting then you run of to who knows where." Temari said glaring at Naruto. 

"My bad I forgot." Naruto said rubbing his head. 

"Troublesome Hokage if I wasn't around you wouldn't have a head anymore." Shikamaru sighed. 

"Damn right he wouldn't." Temari glared at Naruto. 

"Anyway I have a mission for the two of you and don't you dare release that jutsu Shikamaru." Naruto demanded. 

"If you keep wasting my time I might consider releasing it." Shikamaru shrugged while Temari rolled her eyes. 

"Anyway I was going to send Sasuke and Sakura but I met with Sasuke yesterday and he told me he's not coming back this week so instead I'm sending you two I got permission from Gaara this morning. " Naruto said seriously eyeing Temari every now and then to make sure she's still under Shikamaru's jutsu, it explained the look Naruto had this morning before he sended Shikamaru to look for Temari. 

"Why me?" Temari asked. 

"You and Shikamaru are the most qualified." Naruto shrugged. 

"After I kick your ass I'm kicking Sasuke's next." Shikamaru said out of the blue but Naruto smiled understanding what he's getting at while Temari was just plain confused but she didn't even bother asking. 

"Anyway the Otokage asked our help with a situation. People, especially shinobi are vanishing without a trace and there is a important ball coming up and the Otokage doesn't want anything going wrong so he wants us to attend the ball undercovered and help solve there disappearing problem." Naruto informed them. 

"How long have people been disappearing?" Temari asked with a frown. 

"About two months now." Naruto answered. 

"The bodies was never found?" Shikamaru asked. 

"No." Naruto said shaking his head. Shikamaru had a bad feeling about this. 

"When do we leave?" Shikamaru asked. 

"This afternoon." Naruto said carefully. 

"You're joking, twelve o'clock is..." Temari started but stopped looking at Shikamaru in the corners of her eyes for an answer. 

"Half an hour." Shikamaru answered bluntly at her unasked question. 

"...Half an hour away." Temari continued. 

"Exactly, if you ask me it's more than enough time. Besides it's your fault, you took so long." Naruto scoffed. 

"I'm blaming you." Temari said to Shikamaru. 

"Troublesome woman, why are you always blaming me?" Shikamaru asked defeated. 

"Because it's mostly your fault." Temari scoffed. 

"How is it my fault?" Shikamaru asked rolling his eyes. 

"Because you took so bloody long to find me." Temari replied. 

"I fail to see how that's my fault." Shikamaru said bluntly. 

"Ahem, I guess you can leave tomorrow morning, but I'm guessing you still need a dress Temari." Naruto interrupted before Temari could continue their bickering. 

"A dress?" Temari asked heavily confused. 

"You're attending the ball." Naruto said with a grin. 

"I am?" Temari asked surprised. 

"Jap, you, Shikamaru, Sakura and Sai are attending." Naruto said popping his p. 

"I am?" Shikamaru asked not as surprised as Temari was. 

"Yep." Naruto said popping his p again. 

"How troublesome." Shikamaru sighed. 

"Shikamaru you're in charge and Temari you are second in charge. Here are you're invitations to get in the gate and ball if you two don't have any further questions then you're dismissed." Naruto said as Shikamaru nodded, Temari mimicking him. 

Shikamaru turned for the door and opened the door releasing his jutsu as he walked threw the door. Temari hesitated, turning around glaring at a cowering Naruto. She stared him down as she slowly walked to Naruto stopping right infront of his desk making Naruto gulp. 

"Here's the scroll Gaara told me to give you." Temari smirked placing it on his desk before leaving a relieved Naruto in his office. 

"What took you so long?" Shikamaru asked with a raised eyebrow as Temari catched up to him. 

"I just gave Naruto a scroll from Gaara." Temari shrugged. 

"Oh, do you need anything for the mission?" Shikamaru asked as they left the Hokage mansion. 

"No, you?" Temari asked. 

"Just little things." Shikamaru shrugged. 

"Okay, then I'll get us some lunch and rations while you get your little stuff." Temari grinned. 

"Thanks." Shikamaru smiled at het as she took a turn for the food district while he kept straight looking at her back as she disappeared. 

Shikamaru walked slowly to the weapon shop with his hands in his pockets looking up at the calming clouds. After passing a few shops and streets he made it to the weapon shop. As he entered he saw Tenten at the till bored out of her mind. 

"Shikamaru!" Tenten called with a smile as she woke from her bored trans.

"Hey Tenten, slow day?" He asked boredly. 

"Talk about slow, the slowness of this day rivals even your slowness on a daily basis." Tenten sighed dramatically. 

"Troublesome." Shikamaru said bluntly. 

"How can I help you Shikamaru?" Tenten laughed.

"I just need some kunai and paper bombs." Shikamaru shrugged as Tenten left the till looking for the stuff he needed. 

"I heard you and Temari are together now." Tenten grinned as she gathered the stuff for Shikamaru. 

"Let me guess, you talked to Neji today? I swear he's more troublesome than Ino." Shikamaru sighed rubbing the bridge of his nose. 

"Sure did, guess he won the betting pool." Tenten mused. 

"More gathering, less talking." Shikamaru said placing his hands in his pockets. 

"Wait there was a betting pool?" Shikamaru asked registering to her words. 

"Jap." Tenten said handing him the stuff he asked. 

"What was the bet?" Shikamaru asked placing the stuff in his ninja pouch and handing Tenten some money. 

"When you two will finally be getting it on." Tenten shrugged. 

"Nothing happened." Shikamaru sighed exaggerated. 

"So the bets still on!" Tenten exclaimed, excited that she still had a chance. 

"Wait, but that's not what Neji saw." Tenten scoffed remembering their conversation. 

"Neji only saw what he wanted to see and when the hell did this bet happen?" Shikamaru asked with a irritated expression. 

"The other night before Temari arrived when you left early." Tenten shrugged. 

"Who else betted?" Shikamaru asked narrowing his eyes remembering that night. 

"Everyone." Tenten laughed. 

"You guys are troublesome, I'm leaving." Shikamaru sighed irritably as he left the shop. 

"Bye Shikamaru." Tenten laughed as he left. 

"How troublesome." Shikamaru mumbled as he walked back to his apartment with his hands in his pockets and his head in the clouds the whole way back to his apartment thinking about how lucky and peaceful they where. 

But when he got back to his apartment he literally took a step inside then got shoved back out again. 

"What now?" Shikamaru groaned at the source of most of his problems. 

"We need to go otherwise we're going to be late." Temari replied. 

"Temari, first of all I need food and secondly I need a sleeping bag." Shikamaru sighed as he went back inside. 

"Hurry up then and your food and rations is on the table." Temari said as she walked to the kitchen table sitting on top of it resting her feet on the chair waiting impatiently. 

"Come on Shikamaru, move your lazy ass." Temari called impatiently placing her elbow on her knee to support her head as she rested her chin on her palm. 

"I'm coming troublesome woman." Shikamaru called irritably from his room. 

"Finally!" Temari exclaimed when Shikamaru finally appeared in the kitchen. 

"You know Temari a table was made for eating food at and that foot stool of yours was made for sitting." Shikamaru said bluntly. 

"Good to know." Temari said grinning, throwing the rations at Shikamaru who caught them and placed them in his bag. 

"Now let's go." Temari said exaggerated jumping of the table grabbing his food handing it to him as she passed him. 

"Troublesome woman I need to eat first." Shikamaru said bluntly. 

"Walk and eat." Temari said leaving the apartment. 

"This is troublesome." Shikamaru sighed, _this whole day is troublesome,_ Shikamaru thought as he left the apartment locking the door behind him. 

They where halfway to the gate with Temari walking fast and Shikamaru lagging behind eating his food. 

"Hey Shika and Blondie." A little girl called making Temari stop dead in her tracks and scowl, _fantastic_. 

"Hey Mirai." Shikamaru smiled. 

"You again. Look kid we're in a hurry, we don't have time to mess around." Temari said glaring at Mirai. 

"Calm down blondie, I can walk and talk." Mirai smirked making Temari sigh rubbing her templates. 

"Ugh, let's just go." Temari grumbled walking again. 

"Aaawww is somebody grumpy." Shikamaru teased finishing his food and picking Mirai up placing her on his shoulders. 

"Less talking, more walking." Temari glared at them as Shikamaru smiled at her and Mirai giggled like crazy. 

"Are you coming back Blondie?" Mirai asked with big eyes. 

"Of course I am." Temari replied smiling. 

"When are you coming back Shika?" Mirai asked playing with Shikamaru's hair. 

"That's adorable Shika." Temari said softly, teasing Shikamaru as she laughed at him while he narrowed his eyes at her. 

"Probably after a weeks time." Shikamaru answered Mirai. 

"Blondie too?" Mirai asked. 

"Hey brat I have a name and yes I'm going with Shikamaru on this mission and I'm returning with him." Temari said. 

"Hey Shikamaru you're late!" Sakura roared from the gate. 

"Actually Sakura, he's on time." Sai said with a smile. 

"Oh, must be Temari's influence." Sakura said surprised that he was on time. 

"Damn right it was." Temari smirked making Shikamaru roll his eyes. 

"Is everyone ready to leave?" Shikamaru asked looking at everyone seriously. 

"Let's go already." Temari grinned as Sakura and Sai nodded. 

"Okay then. Sorry Mirai but you can't come." Shikamaru said as he took her of his shoulders and placed her back on the ground. 

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Mirai said crossing her arms while she pouted. 

"See you when we come back brat." Temari grinned as Shikamaru rubbed Mirai's head before they turned to leave while Sakura and Sai smiled at Mirai before they followed Temari and Shikamaru leaving Mirai at the gates as she watched them start their long journey to the sound village.

 **_**

 **A/N: Hey guys, I'll probably be posting a chapter tomorrow since I'm going on holiday with a friend and I can't take my laptop with me plus there's no signal :'( besides I won't get anything done while she's around. Please comment, I'd love to hear what you guys think and what's your favourite pairing? And is there anything I should improve on? But NEVER DOUBT ME, you're fantastic author signing out :D**


	3. MISSION

**A/N:**

 ************** **-** **Time skip  
**  
 _ **...**_ **-** **POV change**

 **_** _  
 _ **"Don't be gone too long cause you won't be there to love me when you're gone Don't be gone too long tell me who's gonna love me when you're gone?" - Don't be gone too long Chris brown**_  
 **_**

Temari's eyes shot open as she gasped looking around with wide eyes.

"You had the same dream, didn't you?" Shikamaru said sleepily.

"Yes." Temari said nodding looking at left where Sakura and Sai was sleeping in the tent and to her right was Shikamaru.

"Come here." Shikamaru said opening his arm to Temari as she snuggled closer to him.

"I'm sorry I woke you up." Temari said softly into his chest.

"It's okay, you're safe now." Shikamaru whispered soothingly as they both fell asleep after a while.

It was the last night of their journey, tomorrow they'll be arriving in the Sound village but every night it was the same story, she would keep having the same dream and Shikamaru would be there to comfort her.

"If I was you two I would wake up before Sakura comes back and make a scene of this." Sai smiled at the two as he woke them up.

"Thanks Sai." Shikamaru mumbled still asleep still holding Temari.

Temari stood up out of Shikamaru's arms but she left him to continue his sleep. Temari stepped out in the fresh air outside stretching just as Sakura arrived.

"Oh so you two are awake." Sakura said grinning.

"No, Shikamaru's still asleep." Temari said bluntly.

"You're kidding me?" Sakura sweat dropped.

"Nope." Temari replied.

"Well wake him up." Sakura said.

"Why should I? you want him awake." Temari shrugged.

"Fine." Sakura said glaring at Temari.

"Shikamaru wake up." Sakura said poking her head in the tent but got ignored by Shikamaru so Sakura left fanishing into the forest.

"Where are you going?" Temari called to Sakura.

"You'll see." Sakura called back.

"Poor Shikamaru." Sai commented shaking his head.

"What?" Temari asked confused.

"She used to this to Naruto when he didn't want to wake up. It's cruel but effective." Sai shrugged as Temari simply shook her head and let it go.

Sakura returned with a bottle of water after a while making Temari understand exactly what she was getting at. Sakura entered the tent and cleared the area around Shikamaru then started pouring the water over Shikamaru's head.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" Shikamaru exclaimed as he shot out of his bed with speed nobody knew he had.

"Easy way to wake people up." Sakura grinned as everyone gathered their stuff so it womt get wet while Shikamaru rubbed his face dry outside.

"Don't just sit their help us with the tent Shikamaru." Sakura said as everyone started taking it down.

"No." Shikamaru said boredly sitting on the ground watching them.

"Stop being a cry baby." Temari said rolling her eyes as Shikamaru glared at her when he slowly stood up and helped them pack up.

"It looks like Naruto won the bet after all." Sakura said out of nowhere when they where finished.

"What bet?" Temari asked as Sakura laughed and Sai smiled.

"You, shut your mouth." Shikamaru said glaring at Sakura then at Sai.

"I'm so over this." Temari said defeated as she headed to the Sound village.

 ************************************

The afternoon went and gone by as they continued to travel to the sound village and when they finally got there it was past lunch time already.

"Finally." Sakura groaned seeing the village up ahead of them.

"Yeah, couldn't they have built this bloody village closer." Temari chimed in.

"Damn and you two tell me I complain alot." Shikamaru said rolling his eyes.

"That's becuase you do." Temari shrugged.

"Troublesome woman." Shikamaru sighed.

"State your purpose in the village." One of the guards at the village gates said for security measures.

"Where attending the ball." Shikamaru said as he handed them their invitations.

"Enjoy." The guard said handing him the scroll back after looking at it.

"Thanks." Shikamaru said taking the scroll and walked into the village as the group followed him.

"Shikamaru do you know where you're going?" Temari asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nope how 'bout you?" Shikamaru asked looking back at her.

"Figured, actually I do I was here a few months ago." Temari grinned surprising the group.

"Oh, then lead the way troublesome woman." Shikamaru said gesturing for her to take the lead.

Temari walked slightly infront of the rest as she navigated threw the village. The village was almost like Konoha except with less trees and less colour. They finally found a inn across the ball venue after they walked in a surkel for at least 3 times.

"I told you we should've asked for directions." Shikamaru said rolling his eyes.

"I don't need directions." Temari said annoyed.

"That's not what the same building we passed 10 times told me." Shikamaru said exaggerated.

"Stop being dramatic we only passed it 3 times." Temari sighed rubbing her templates.

"Oh and that's better?" Shikamaru said bluntly.

"Considerably." Temari said glaring at Shikamaru who was next to her.

"Oh my gosh, just stop bickering for a minute, you're like an old married couple." Sakura said frustrated as they walked into the inn.

"If he was my husband, I would poison his tea." Temari said glaring at Shikamaru.

"If you where my wife, I would drink it." Shikamaru said glaring back at her making Sakura sigh and shake her head.

"Hi, we would like two adjoining rooms with two beds each please." Sai smiled politely at the receptionist.

"Of course." The receptionist smiled politely eyeing them suspiciously.

"Here are the keys for room 10 and 11, there just down the hall, enjoy your stay." She said with her fake smile.

"Thank you." Sai replied with a similar smile as they walked to their rooms.

"Me and Temari will share a room while you two can sleep in the other room." Sakura grinned as everyone just shrugged complying to Sakura's wishes.

Temari opened the first rooms door entering the room. It was a nice room with lots of bamboo and screen sheets in with a wooden floor. The walls was painted like a bamboo forest with mist slightly hiding the forest but they used light, soft colours instead of dark colours. Temari took of her shoes and walked to the closest bed, putting her bags on the floor next to the bed as she lyed on the soft cream coloured bed. Temari looked at the wall opposite her bed until her eyes fell on the door separating their room from Shikamaru's room. In the meantime Sakura placed her bags next to her bed and stepped in font of Temari's line of sight as she directed her attention to Sakura.

"Let's go." Sakura said smiling broadly.

"Go where?" Temari asked.

"Shopping for our dresses." Sakura said excited.

"No." Temari groaned pulling the cushion over her head as Sakura headed for the door Temari was staring at opening it.

"Me and Temari are going shopping." Sakura informed Shikamaru and Sai.

"I agreed to no such thing!" Temari called with the cushion on her head while Shikamaru laughed at her when Sakura pulled the cushion of her face dragging her out the room.

"Help me." Temari mouthed at Shikamaru who laughed harder.

"Shikamaru if you don't stop laughing your coming with us." Sakura said in a sing song voice as Shikamaru immediately stopped laughing.

"I'm good." Shikamaru said as Sai chuckeld at him.

Sakura dragged Temari the whole village full becuase if they where not lost then Temari didn't like the shop.

"What now Temari?" Sakura groaned as she turned around looking at Temari who stopped infront of the shop Sakura wanted to go to crunching her nose.

"I refuse to go into this shop." Temari said stubbornly.

"Why not?" Sakura asked frustrated.

"It's pink." Temari said looking at a annoyed Sakura.

"What's your point, my hair is pink." Sakura said her eyebrow twitching.

"I don't like pink, the only pink I like is your hair." Temari replied adding the last part so she doesn't hurt Sakura's feelings.

"You're worst than Shikamaru." Sakura said on a low tone her eyebrow twitching as she entered the shop alone.

Temari leaned against the shop wall waiting for Sakura to come out but after what felt like hours Temari decided to look for her and with a sigh she entered the girly shop.

"Oh, Temari what do you think of this dress?" Sakura asked Temari seeing her come in.

Temari studied the dress as she walked towards Sakura sitting on the couch that was placed there. The dress was a silky mermaid style dress with a halter top and of course it was pink with black halter straps.

"It looks great! Are you going to buy it?" Temari asked eagerly wanting to get out of the shop but also giving her honest opinion.

"Of course." Sakura grinned as she went back to the dressing room to change.

"I'll take it." Sakura told the cashier as she returned with the dress from the dressing room placing the dress on the counter.

"Good choice, this is a beautiful dress." The cashier smiled as she took the dress ringing the dress for a price.

"Thank you, come again." The cashier smiled as Sakura paid and waved as they left.

"Great one down, one to go." Sakura said triumphantly.

"Fantastic." Temari sighed.

After they got lost again they stumble upon an elegant grey dress shop.

"What about this one?" Sakura grinned at the shop.

"Why not." Temari shrugged going into the shop.

Temari and Sakura went there separate ways searching for a dress for Temari as soon as they entered the shop. But each time Sakura pointed out a dress Temari turned it down.

"Damn you're picky." Sakura groaned as Temari rolled her eyes.

"Hey! What about this one?" Sakura grinned pulling out a black silky dress.

"Not bad, let's go try it on." Temari said smirking.

"This one is a keeper." Sakura grinned at Temari who tried the dress on.

"Good now let's buy it and go." Temari grinned paying the cashier after she changed back into her clothes.

"Wait." Temari said just when they where about to leave.

She turned back heading to the cashier taking some long gloves, paying them then left the shop with Sakura.

"What do you need gloves for?" Sakura asked with a frown as they walked back to the inn.

"If we do need to fight I whould need my fan and I can't take it with me, so I'm going to use a summoning tattoo and I need gloves to cover it up." Temari shrugged.

"You're going to fight in that dress?" Sakura asked with a raised eyebrow.

"If push comes to shove." Temari shrugged.

"But the dress..." Sakura moaned.

"Come on Sakura your sounding like Ino now, besides we are shinobi." Temari said rolling her eyes.

"But the dress is not, you'll ruin it." Sakura said pouting making Temari roll her eyes.

After they got lost they found their way back to the inn again entering there room as they got back.

"What took you guys so long?" Shikamaru asked boredly from his bed in the other room while Sai sat on the floor drawing a picture.

"Temari is a picky shopper." Sakura glared at Temari who shrugged.

"You two should hurry up or we are going to be late." Sai said smiling while he stood up closing the door so they could get ready.

Temari and Sakura should've been awarded a prize for the record time they got ready in. They quickly got dressed and strapped a small ninja pouch on their leg, Temari's was high on her left thigh and Sakura's was in the middle of her right thigh, deciding to wear their hair loose since there was no time to tie it. Sakura opened the door for the two guys while Temari was doing her summoning tattoo on her left wrist. Shikamaru stumbled slightly when he walked into the room seeing Temari, but was relieved when nobody saw him stumble. She looked absolutely breath taking.

"Are you just going to stare at me the whole time?" Temari asked not looking up at Shikamaru who leaned against the wall close to the door with crossed arms.

"Yes, I'm waiting for you to finish up, besides it's not every day Temari no Subaku has her hair down." Shikamaru smirked at her.

"Whatever, nice suite by the way." Temari smirked making Shikamaru blush a little causing Sakura to giggle who next to Sai.

"Oky, I'm done, let's go." Temari said as she stood up pulling on her shoes and gloves as they left for the ball.

Shikamaru studied Temari from the corners of his eyes as they walked to the ball, she had a long strapless black dress on with black heels and gloves. The dress had a long slit along her left leg and the dress also complemented her curves real nicely.

"Invitations?" The doorman asked them when they approached the door as Shikamaru pulled out there invitation.

The doorman looked at the invitations and after he was satisfied he moved out the way to let them pass. The four of them entered the hall scanning the place. It was a really fancy hall with dark yellow walls and gold linings all over the walls plus giant gold curtains reaching up to the chandelier hanging above them. The wooden floor was a mahogany colour with tables of food lining the one wall and windows with a balcony on the opposite wall from where they where standing.

"Sakura, Sai you take the left side of the hall and Temari and I will take the right, if anyone sees anything suspicious find me first." Shikamaru said as the four of them split up.

"What are you doing?" Shikamaru asked as Temari connected her arm with his.

"We're a couple remember." Temari grinned.

"Oh yeah, I forgot." Shikamaru said rubbing his head with his free hand.

"Some genius you are lazy ass." Temari rolled her eyes.

"Troublesome woman, here wear this." Shikamaru said handing Temari a necklace with a black, smooth metal like stone in the middle.

"Why and can you put it on for me?" Temari asked releasing Shikamaru's arm and sweeping her hair to one side with her hand turning around.

"So I can find you. My chakra is infused in that metal, it is the same metal used for chakra nature kunai, so when I focus my chakra on finding that stone my shadow will point to that necklace." Shikamaru explained as he clipped the necklace around Temari's neck.

"How will you find Sakura and Sai?" Temari asked turning around taking Shikamaru's arm again.

"Sakura is the only person with pink hair here and Sai will probably find me first." Shikamaru shrugged.

"I see, what exactly are we looking for?" Temari asked as they scanned the crowd.

"I don't know just look for someone acting suspiciously." Shikamaru said.

"This is going to take a while." Temari sighed.

"Troublesome woman you should learn some patience besides where do you want to go?" Shikamaru asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No where, I just want to get out of this dress." Temari replied.

"Why?" Shikamaru asked looking at her.

"I feel ridiculous." Temari said crinkling her nose.

"You look beautiful." Shikamaru said with a smile making Temari blush a little.

"Is Temari no Subaku blushing?" Shikamaru said dramatically but still with his usual lazy tone.

"Stop being an idiot and focus on the mission." Temari said annoyed smacking a smirking Shikamaru with her free arm.

Temari and Shikamaru blended into the crowd talking to people every now and then, but they found no one shady enough to fit the bill.

"This is taking too long." Temari groaned.

"It's only been an hour troublesome woman." Shikamaru replied.

"Exactly we should have found him already if he was picking people by random, he has a target." Temari said seriously, eyeing the crowd.

"You're right but he could be a she." Shikamaru shrugged.

"Are you mad, if it was a woman she wouldn't have gotten caught." Temari snorted.

"Who's chauvinistic now?" Shikamaru smirked with a raised eyebrow.

"Still you." Temari smirked back.

"Come dance with me." Shikamaru laughed offering her his hand.

"Hell no." Temari said crossing her arms.

"Come on troublesome woman we should blend in." Shikamaru said uncrossing her arms and taking her hand leading her to the dans floor.

"Well would you look at this, Shikamaru Nara finds dancing not troublesome at all." Temari smirked as they slow danced.

"It's still troublesome but not as troublesome as you." Shikamaru smiled looking in her teal eyes.

"Of course not." Temari laughed wrapping her arms around Shikamaru's neck resting her head against his chest while he rested his chin on her head wrapping his arms tighter around her waist.

"You should wear your hair down more often, it looks nice." Shikamaru said softly on top of her head.

"I'll wear my hair down if you wear yours down." Temari replied.

"I'm not wearing mine down." Shikamaru said bluntly.

"Exactly." Temari smirked.

For a moment they forgot about everything around them swaying to the beat of the song in each others arms, but the song ended too soon for what they would've liked forcing them to part.

"Come on we should focus on finding our target." Temari said pulling away taking Shikamaru's hand as they left the dance floor.

As they walked to where the food tables was a man with long black hair and a eerily smile caught her attention.

"What's wrong?" Shikamaru asked seeing the frown on Temari's face.

"I'll be right back." Temari said distracted as her hand slipped threw Shikamaru's as she left.

"Where are you going?" Shikamaru asked before she disappeared.

"Keep searching for our target, I'll be right back." Temari answered not looking at Shikamaru she didn't want to loose sigh of the man.

Temari didn't wait for Shikamaru's reply as she weaved threw the crowd in the direction the man was heading, the balcony. She saw him enter the balciny but as soon as she made her way to the balcony the man was nowhere in sight.

"Dammit I saw him right here." Temari grunted to herself as she made her way to the edge of the balcony looking around for the man.

"Where is he!" Temari said softly to herself out of frustration.

"Looking for me." A amused eerily voice whispered in her ear behind her.

 _Impossible, how could I have not sensed him?_ Temari thought shocked as her eyes widened. She spun around but before she could react or see his face, something strucked her neck rendering her unconscious, her eyes closed slowly as the world around her went black...

 _ **...**_

Shikamaru stood at the food tables waiting for Temari to return but she took way too long, it was troubling. So after a while Shikamaru left searching for Sakura and Sai. He weaved threw the crowd finally spotting Sakura's pink head.

"Hey Sakura..." Shikamaru began but got cut off by Sakura.

"Aaww I saw you guys dancing, it was so cute! Hey where's Temari?" Sakura asked confused.

"That's what I wanted to ask you." Shikamaru sighed.

"How am I suppose to know where she is if you don't even know?" Sakura said with a frown.

"Let's go find Sai." Shikamaru said.

"Right." Sakura nodded as they searched for Sai.

It didn't take them that long to find Sai becuase it was just like Shikamaru said, he found them before they found him.

"Sai, have you seen Temari?" Shikamaru asked.

"No." Sai replied shaking his head.

"Oky you two stay togheter and search for Temari and I'll head for the balcony, she has my chakra stone so I'll be able to find her. She has been gone too long." Shikamaru said.

"If you can find her why don't we just search with you?" Sakura asked.

"Becuase we still need to find the target." Shikamaru reply as he left for the balcony.

It was troublesome to actually get to the balcony becuase he had to weave his way threw the crowd to get there but eventually he made his way there.

He sat in the corner of the balcony where no one could see him taking his thinking position in and closing his eyes taking a deep breath in and out. When he opened his eyes his shadow was slightly extending infront of him to the direction of the forest. Shikamaru stood up dashing of the balcony jumping from roof to roof in the direction his shadow pointed. Shikamaru went after Temari with only one thing thing on his mind, _Something was seriously wrong..._

 **A/N: Hey guys, OMG you won't believe how much I'm struggling to do stuff on the laptop I'm seriously** **technologically disabled** **. But NEVER DOUBT ME! I'll get it eventually... Your fantastic author signing out :P Oh and for those on holiday, I hope you guys enjoy the hell out of it and I'll try to update as soon as possible.**


	4. SACRIFICE

_**"Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend somewhere along the bitterness and I would have stayed up with you all night had I known how to save a life." - How to save a life The Fray**_  
 _ **_  
**_  
Temari's eyes flickered open slowly as she regained consciousness. Temari's head was pounding, luckily she decided against groaning because if she groaned the man would have noticed she was awake. She was thrown over the man's shoulder, explaining Temari's headache. She stayed limp over the man's shoulder as she slowly and cautiously lifted both her arms biting the tip of the gloves to remove them. She dropped her gloves along the way, they had no use to her now. She bit her right thump slowly and silently bringing the blood to the tattoo on her left palm. She pressed her thump on the summoning tattoo grabbing her fan as it appeared and quickly banged it on the man's head giving her the chance to flip over his shoulder landing on a branch behind him, kicking her heels off because of the fact that they were not made for fighting. The man stumbled forward laughing eerily. 

"What are you laughing at?" Temari asked glaring at the man's back. 

"I'm not allowed to laugh?" The man chuckled as he turned around. 

"No, you're supposed to be dead." Temari gasped in shock staring at the snake before her with wide eyes. 

"Death is simply a illusion my dear." He smiled widely. 

"How?" Temari asked softly. 

"Like I said before, my death was only an illusion." He chuckled licking his lips with his long tongue. 

"I watched Sasuke stab you in the heart." Temari said with a frown when he suddenly disappeared into thin air making Temari scowl and open her fan as she looked around for him. 

"He missed." Orochimaru whispered in her ear appearing behind her and before she could react his teeth was already sinking into her neck causing Temari to scream. 

After a moment of pure agony Orochimaru withdrew his teeth from her neck giving Temari the chance to swing around using her fan as a club to hit Orochimaru and send him flying. Temari used that chance to make a escape, she knew when to retreat from a battle she cannot win, not in this condition. 

"You cannot escape me my dear." Orochimaru chuckled as he watched her dash away holding her neck where he bit her. 

Temari ignored him using all her will power to keep moving forward and not give in to the pain. She couldn't see Orochimaru behind her but she knew that she hadn't lost him, he was playing with her, testing her. She knew this was futile but she could at least try to escape, but it begged the question of how far Orochimaru was willing to let her escape. Either way she couldn't get very far becuase she was not even close to the village and she could feel her consciousness slipping away. She desperately tried to get away until she ran straight into Shikamaru. 

"Shikamaru!" She gasped in his arms. 

"Temari, what's wrong? I heard you scream." Shikamaru asked concerned. 

"We have to get out of here." Temari said franticly still clutching the left side of her neck. 

"Temari calm down it's okay your safe now." Shikamaru said trying to calm her down. 

"No Shikamaru, it's not okay and we are not safe, we have to leave now!" Temari pleaded looking Shikamaru in his eyes. 

It unnerved Shikamaru to see Temari like this, he had never seen her this frantic and worked up before.

"Temari what happened to your neck and why did you scream?" Shikamaru asked slowly taking her hand of her neck and what Shikamaru saw made him tense up. 

"He's here." Temari said with wide eyes looking straight into Shikamaru's shocked brown eyes. 

"Well if it isn't the brave and the wise." Orochimaru chuckled materialising out of a nearby tree. 

"He's supposed to be dead." Shikamaru said with a frown. 

"Not everything you see is true when it comes to Orochimaru." Temari said regaining herself. 

Temari stepped out of Shikamaru's arms and turned to face a smiling Orochimaru as she opened her fan and placed it behind her. 

"What do you want Orochimaru?" Temari glared at him. 

"Isn't it obvious, I want test subjects." Orochimaru chuckled amused. 

"Well you're not getting any tonight." Temari replied. 

"But that's where your wrong my dear, I already have." Orochimaru smirked as a wave of pain shot through Temari making her cringe a bit. 

"You okay?" Shikamaru asked softly behind her. 

"Never better." Temari replied. 

"Wind release: wind cutter technique!" Temari exclaimed sweeping her fan towards Orochimaru. 

Temari realised what a bad idea it was to use her chakra because of her newly gained curse mark that was causing her a lot of agony. Temari flinched and dropped to one knee closing her fan. Shikamaru moved out from behind her and to a closer branch. As soon as he landed on the branch he made a few hand seals. 

"Shadow possession jutsu." Shikamaru called extending his shadow to Orochimaru who was still trapped in Temari's razor sharp winds. 

"Shadow - neck binding jutsu." Shikamaru said with a hard expression changing his hand seal. 

Shikamaru's shadow crawled on Orochimaru to his neck and when Temari's wind dissipated she saw that annoying smirk on his face. 

"I am going to wipe that smile of your face!" Temari exclaimed losing her temper. 

She jumped of the branch and high in the air bringing her fan down on Orochimaru's head using her closed fan as a club. 

"Did you get him?" Shikamaru asked when her fan connected with Orochimaru's head not releasing his jutsu. 

"No, body replacement jutsu." Temari said panting leaning on her closed fan as Shikamaru released his jutsu. 

Shikamaru jumped to Temari's branch and watched behind her while she watched the front as they searched for Orochimaru. Thousands of snakes came flying from Temari's side towards them in a matter of seconds. 

"Found him." Temari said softly. 

Temari grunted as she bit her thump and opened her fan smearing her blood slowly on her fan. 

"Temari wait, let me handle this." Shikamaru said stepping in her way. 

"Move Shikamaru!" Temari exclaimed as she bumped him out the way. 

"Summoning: quick beheading dance!" Temari screamed swinging her fan. 

Temari screamed grabbing her neck as she fell to one knee while a massive wind with Kamatari sliced through the dozens of snakes heading there way as well as all the trees in that direction. 

"Dammit Temari, I told you I would handle it." Shikamaru said concerned. 

"A simple thank you would be nice." Temari glared at him as he helped her up. 

"I'm impressed that you're still conscious, never mind able to use chakra." Orochimaru chuckled from everywhere making it impossible to pinpoint his exact location. 

"And miss a chance to kick your ass." Temari said panting while looking around for Orochimaru. 

Temari sensed Orochimaru behind her as she narrowed her eyes, Temari didn't know whether Orochimaru wanted to use Shikamaru as a test subject or if he wanted to kill him, but either way she wasn't allowing one of them, even if it kills her. Temari darted towards a smirking Orochimaru with her closed fan. 

"Temari!" Shikamaru exclaimed frustrated he didn't want her to use any chakra or go near Orochimaru. 

Temari grunted as she used her fan to pin Orochimaru by his neck to the tree behind him where he materialised from. 

"You can break my soul, take my life away, beat me, hurt me, kill me, but for the love of all things holy, don't touch him." Temari whispered threateningly at Orochimaru. 

"Oh, I intend to." Orochimaru said smirking. 

"Temari, duck!" Shikamaru yelled from where he was. 

Temari ducked at the last moment releasing Orochimaru before dozens of shadow tendrils dug themselves in Orochimaru's body. 

"Did I get him?" Shikamaru asked. 

"No, he used body replacement jutsu then he used hiding in surface technique." Temari sighed annoyed. 

"Damn troublesome snake." Shikamaru complained as he went over to Temari searching for Orochimaru. 

Temari smirked at his complaining then it hit her like a lightning bolt causing her eyes to widen at the realisation, why would Orochimaru go anywhere if they came to him. Temari moved in between Shikamaru and the tree facing her back to the tree just in time as Orochimaru's head materialised out of the tree with a snake sword. Temari gasped as the sword stabbed her in her right back making her eyes widen as she looked down at the sword sticking out of her stomach then back up at Shikamaru's horrified eyes. Orochimaru's face fell in displease, he did not look happy at Temari's gesture to save Shikamaru. It all happened in slow motion as Shikamaru watched Temari get stabbed. He knew her body couldn't take the new curse mark and a serious stab wound as he looked at her wide eyes. 

"Dammit Temari, I could've handled it." Shikamaru said frustrated. 

"I know." Temari said smiling her breathing rugged. 

"Why?" Shikamaru asked hopelessly. 

"Because you have a better chance than me from walking out of this fight alive" Temari said taking his face in her hands. 

"You never give up, why now?" Shikamaru asked sadly. 

"I'm not giving up. Orochimaru may have won this fight but he hasn't won the war." Temari said softly. 

"Damn you Temari." Shikamaru said softly. 

"I don't have much time, I'm losing consciousness." Temari said softly as she brought Shikamaru's face closer to hers and kissed him making Shikamaru's problems melt away as he felt her soft lips caressing his, but when she pulled away reality punched him in the gut as he saw the pain on Temari's face as well as the beautiful spark in her eyes fading away slowly. 

"Stay with me." Shikamaru said sadly resting his forehead against hers as he stroked the stray hair out off her face. 

"We both know that's not possible." Temari said gasping in pain as Orochimaru retracted his snake sword from her back. 

Temari started falling because the sword in her back was what kept her upright. Shikamaru caught Temari as she fell forward laying her down in his lap and cradling her head in his arms. Shikamaru was not aware of the world around him anymore, all he saw was Temari slipping away in his arms. 

"The other reason I let Orochimaru stab me instead of you is because I love you and I didn't want to see you get hurt." Temari smiled at him. 

"I love you too." Shikamaru said a tear rolling down his face. 

"That's why you should forget about me cry baby." Temari said chuckling as she wiped his tear away with her thumb but started coughing up blood making her retract her hand to her side. 

"I will never forget you." Shikamaru said shaking his head. 

"You have to, I want you to be happy." Temari said slowly and softly as she started losing consciousness. 

"I'll never be happy without you." Shikamaru said with tears in his eyes but lost consciousness when something struck him from behind making him fall over and leaving Temari gasping in pain at the sudden movement. 

"Shikamaru..." Temari said groggily just before she lost consciousness. 

"Kabuto! I told you not to interfere." Orochimaru said annoyed as he glared at Kabuto. 

"I wanted to see how this played out." Orochimaru said with an evil smirk. 

"Sorry lord Orochimaru, but Temari is dying we have to leave now." Kabuto said bowing before Orochimaru. 

"Very well, stop the bleeding and let's go." Orochimaru said watching Kabuto do as he is ordered. 

Kabuto kicked Shikamaru aside making him fall on the same branch behind them then went to work on stopping Temari's bleeding and after he was finished he picked her up bridal style and dashed after Orochimaru as they took off.

******************************************************************************************************************************************* 

"You found him yet?" Sakura asked impatiently with crossed arms looking down at Sai. 

"Not yet." Sai said sitting on the ground resting his head on his hand with a paintbrush in it and a blank scroll and ink in front of him. 

"Why is it taking this long?" Sakura sighed. 

"He must be far." Sai replied emotionless. 

"Why did he leave the party and where the hell is Temari?" Sakura asked herself with concern. 

"I don't know, but he wouldn't have left if something wasn't wrong, same with Temari." Sai answered Sakura anyway. 

Some of the mice Sai drew was starting to return from their journey searching for Temari and Shikamaru. 

"Hey there returning, did they find them?" Sakura asked hopefully. 

"The ones that came back didn't find anything but I have a feeling the ones still missing did." Sai mused. 

"So when will they be back?" Sakura asked. 

"Soon." Sai said, he could feel them coming closer. 

After a while of waiting the missing mice returned and ran right into Sai's scroll merging with it. 

"And?" Sakura asked uncrossing her arms curiously. 

"They couldn't find Temari but they did find Shikamaru, let's go." Sai said as he jumped from roof to roof with Sakura following him. 

"Where is Shikamaru?" Sakura asked behind Sai. 

"Deep in the woods." Sai answered Sakura who got a confused expression all over her face just before they entered the woods.

... 

Shikamaru opened his eyes groggily seeing Sakura standing over him smacking cheek repetitively while Sai stood nearby watching them. Shikamaru smacked Sakura's hand away as he shot upright. 

"Where's Temari?" Shikamaru asked franticly with wide eyes. 

"Calm down Shikamaru." Sakura said softly. 

"We don't know we can't find her anywhere, we were hoping you could tell us." Sai said calmly. 

"Dammit." Shikamaru said punching the branch he was sitting on surprising Sakura, she had never seen him this mad before. 

"I lost her." Shikamaru said barely audible. 

"What do you mean you lost her?" Sakura asked shocked. 

"Orochimaru took her." Shikamaru said looking down.

Sai snapped his head at Shikamaru and Sakura's eyes widened in horror. 

"But he's dead." Sakura gasped. 

"No he's not and he took Temari, we should send a message to Naruto." Shikamaru said with a hard expression looking at Sai. 

"Right." Sai nodded taking out a scroll and ink sitting down with his paintbrush. 

"Tell Naruto Orochimaru's alive and he's got Temari and to send a search party to track her." Shikamaru said as he sat down focusing his chakra on her necklace while Sai wrote everything down. 

"Shikamaru what happened?" Sakura asked carefully. 

"He took her at the party so I went after her but she found me first then Orochimaru arrived, by the time she found me she already had the curse mark. We fought Orochimaru then Orochimaru disappeared into that tree with Temari right here as I jumped over to her that's when Orochimaru came back out with a snake sword intending to stab me, but Temari jumped in the way so he stabbed her instead. I sat here with her right here in my arms then I got knocked unconscious I presume he took her with him." Shikamaru said sadly with closed eyes while he still focused his chakra as Sai decided to write that down too. 

"Shikamaru what makes you think she's still alive?" Sakura asked awkwardly. 

"She's still alive." Shikamaru replied. 

"How do you know that, you can't even find her." Sakura said softly.

Shikamaru stood up and left for their hotel he was slowly starting to lose his temper the longer he was listening to Sakura. 

"Shikamaru it's been three days, we need to go home." Sakura said touching his shoulder but he shrugged her off. 

"Go home then, I'm not stopping you." Shikamaru said coldly. 

The group of three was near the village's entrance searching everywhere for Temari. 

"Shikamaru." A voice called behind them making him tense up. 

Sai and Sakura turned around to face Naruto and as Sakura turned around her eyes widened when her eyes met Sasuke's. She missed him so onyx eyes seemed to hold her eyes captive, drowning her in their blackness not allowing her to look away. She wanted so badly to help him find happiness but the problem was he didn't let her in and she was slowly giving him accepting that the only thing she could do was watch from the side lines, but for a moment she imagined the longing in his eyes. 

"Sasuke." Sakura whispered staring at him in awe.

"Naruto." Shikamaru said turning around with his hands in his pockets walking towards Naruto slowly. 

"Look Shikamaru, we can't send a search party after Temari because frankly Shikamaru I talked with Sasuke and he also agreed that she couldn't have survived besides she's Suna's problem..." Naruto said reluctantly but got cut off when Shikamaru punched him making him stager. 

"Shikamaru! You can't..." Sasuke said breaking his eye contact with Sakura to glare at Shikamaru but he also got cut off when Shikamaru punched him next. 

"Shikamaru!" Sakura roared jogging towards Sasuke grabbing his face to check his cheek, stroking it softly while using her medical jutsu to take away the pain. 

Sasuke made a move to punch Shikamaru, but Naruto grabbed his shoulder shaking his head remembering the day he told Shikamaru about the mission while Sakura stood in Sasuke's way so neither of them can punch each other. 

"Shikamaru, we're sorry about what happen but we can't stay, we have to get back to the village." Naruto said sadly. 

"I'm not leaving till I find her." Shikamaru said with a hard expression. 

"Then we'll see you back in the village." Naruto said reluctantly as he turned to leave with Sasuke, Sakura and Sai in tow leaving Shikamaru to watch their backs as they left. 

"Not even Konoha's smartest shinobi could save the one he loved." Naruto said softly to himself. 

"There is no hope in a world so cruel." Sasuke said to Naruto hearing him while Sakura looked at Sasuke sadly then looked away. 

"Shikamaru you're back, it's been over a week!" Chouji exclaimed when he saw Shikamaru walk down the road. 

"Hey Chouji." Shikamaru greeted with his hands in his pockets, but he lost the happiness in his lazy tone and Chouji noticed it right away. 

"Are you okay?" Chouji asked concerned. 

"I'm fine." Shikamaru answered as he continued walking to the place he always went to watch clouds. 

"Shikamaru where are you going, don't you need to check in with Naruto first? You've been gone for a whole week." Chouji called after Shikamaru. 

"I'll get to him eventually." Shikamaru shrug as he walked away leaving Chouji behind. 

"Shikamaru!" Chouji called but got ignored by Shikamaru who just continued walking away. 

Shikamaru walked through the village looking at the clouds acting like he didn't have a care in the world, but that was all just an act. 

"Hey Shika, you're back!" An ecstatic Mirai exclaimed with a smiling Kuranai lagging behind her. 

"Of course I am." Shikamaru said smiling at Mirai rubbing her head. 

"Where's your girlfriend?" Mirai asked hitting a nerve as she looked expectantly at Shikamaru. 

"She's gone Mirai." Shikamaru replied sadly. 

"What do you mean she's gone, where is she? she said she'll come back with you." Mirai asked confused. 

"I don't know where she is Mirai." Shikamaru said. 

"But she's you're girlfriend how can you not know where she is?" Mirai asked rolling her eyes. 

"Because I don't Mirai." Shikamaru said coldly as he walked away astounding Kuranai and leaving Mirai baffled. 

"What's his problem?" Mirai asked her mom as she watched Shikamaru leave. 

Kuranai watched Shikamaru leave with wide eyes she knew exactly what his problem was the moment he said Temari was gone. 

"Let's go get ice cream." Kuranai said. 

"Mommy where's Temari, did she go back to her village?" Mirai asked looking at Kuranai. 

"No honey she didn't." Kuranai sighed not looking at Mirai. 

Shikamaru finally reached the cliff as he walked up the cliff and took a seat under the tree he liked to lie under. Shikamaru made himself comfortable as he sat in his thinking position focusing his chakra on Temari's necklace, hoping she still has it.

... 

"Hey Chouji, what's wrong you look troubled?" Hinata asked trying to be nice as she walked up to Chouji. 

"It's Shikamaru, I'm worried about him." Chouji said with a frown. 

"Oh, he's back?" Hinata asked surprised. 

"Yeah, I guess he ran out of resources. He changed, he may look the same but there is no happiness in his eyes, his eyes are cold." Chouji said looking in the direction he knew Shikamaru was. 

"That's horrible, poor Shikamaru it must be terrible losing someone you love." Hinata said softly looking down. 

"Yeah." Chouji said sadly. 

"It might be too soon but Naruto wants to see Shikamaru, I think it may be best if you go get him." Hinata said looking at Chouji, since Hinata started spending so much time with Naruto she knows all the Hokage stuff Shikamaru and Naruto does and she started taking Shikamaru's roll because of his absence. 

"Sure thing, I'll see you around." Chouji smiled. 

"Thanks Chouji." Hinata smiled heading to the Hokage's office, probably bringing Naruto some lunch. 

Chouji munched on some chips as he headed to Shikamaru's favourite spot. He didn't know much about what happened that day, but he knew the basics like Orochimaru is alive and he took Temari plus there is a eighty percent chance that she is dead, would've been fifty but then she got stabbed. Chouji wanted to believe she was still alive but in the end all the facts pointed against it. 

"Hey Shikamaru, what are you doing?" Chouji asked sitting next to him. 

"I'm looking for Temari." He said opening his eyes as Chouji offered him some chips. 

"What happened that day Shikamaru?" Chouji asked continuing eating his chips after Shikamaru took a chip. 

"She disappeared at the ball so I went looking for her and when I found her she looked so scared. You should've seen her eyes Chouji, she was frantic, almost afraid. Then Orochimaru appeared mocking us causing Temari to lose her temper. He gave her a curse mark, but this curse mark was different, it was the same as Sasuke's in the inside but on the outside it looked like a blowing wind. She just kept throwing jutsu after jutsu, punch after punch. It's amazing actually she was supposed to be unconscious but instead she was wide awake and in agony every single second she was awake but she kept going for my sake since I was so bloody useless the whole time. Near the end Orochimaru disappeared into the trees and I went right towards him without even realising it, I was so stupid, that's when Temari realised it and jumped in front of me getting stabbed in the process. I sat there with her in my arms and then I lost her just because I didn't focus on what was going on around me. Now she's gone and it's all my fault." Shikamaru said staring into nothingness like he's replying the scene all over again, Chouji really felt sorry for his friend. 

"Shikamaru don't you think she's dead?" Chouji asked carefully, there is one thing worse than somebody's death and that's not knowing whether their still alive or dead. 

"No." Shikamaru said coldly. 

"Shikamaru you can't even find her and she has your chakra stone." Chouji said practically quoting Sakura that first night. 

"That doesn't prove anything, it only means she's underground." Shikamaru replied. 

"Why do you think she's underground?" Chouji said. 

"It's Orochimaru he lives underground." Shikamaru said looking at Chouji with his cold eyes. 

"What do you want Chouji?" Shikamaru asked expressionless. 

"Naruto wants to see you." Chouji said surprised by Shikamaru's coldness. 

Shikamaru didn't reply he only stood up leaving Chouji to look at his back. Chouji stared at Shikamaru's back in wonder, he would usually answer with something like troublesome but instead he left without a word or complaint which was unusual. Even Shikamaru's little habits changed. _Temari really did have a huge impact on him_ , Chouji thought sadly. 

"You called?" Shikamaru said as he walked in Naruto's office. 

"Shikamaru you're finally back." Naruto smiled. 

Sasuke was looking out the window but turned around glaring at Shikamaru when he heard him enter. Sasuke was surprised by the glare he received back, it was cold almost rivalling his own. 

"I ran out of resources." Shikamaru said averting his attention back at Naruto. 

"Shikamaru tell me what happened that day, Sakura's report has holes." Naruto said seriously. 

"I found Temari in the woods after she went missing at the ball. When I found her she had a curse mark but not same as Sasuke's was, the outer ring of her mark looked like a blowing wind. She still had the strength to fight, but at the end of the fight she got stabbed in her back. Then I got knocked unconscious and when I woke up she was gone." Shikamaru reported crossing his arms. 

"What do you mean it was different?" Sasuke asked. 

"I think he's experimenting with different curse marks, probably stronger ones adapting to the receivers chakra nature, that's why hers looks like a blowing wind." Shikamaru shrugged. 

"How can you be so certain?" Sasuke said looking at Shikamaru coldly. 

"Because of something Orochimaru said and it's the only logical explanation." Shikamaru said returning his coldness. 

"Thanks Shikamaru, you're dismissed." Naruto said as Shikamaru turned to leave. 

"Shikamaru before you leave, there's a funeral for Temari in a few days at Suna and we're all leaving tomorrow." Naruto said making Shikamaru stop. 

"I'm not going." Shikamaru said bluntly. 

"Then keep the fort up, and take a week off Shikamaru." Naruto said grimly leaning back in his chair. 

"Enjoy." Shikamaru said walking out of the office.

... 

Temari gasped as she took a long intake of air looking around franticly. Temari woke up in a dark room with candles all over offering some light in the room. The room was brown with a plain white bed. Temari looked down at what she was wearing and frowned, she had a silky strapless black dress on with a black necklace and no shoes, which was stranger than what she was wearing. Temari climbed off the bed feeling some pain in her back and left shoulder but she chose to ignore it. She was a little unsteady on her feet as she stood up, seeing some clothes to her left and decided to change out of her weird dress. As she changed she saw a random tattoo on her left shoulder and a scar on her lower right back.

Temari's clothes was made out of a similar style she wore when Pain attacked Konoha except instead she had a rope like sash and no forehead protector with her hair loose. She walked to the wooden door and opened it slightly looking down both sides of the long dark hallway. After she saw no one she entered the hallway walking down the hall leaning against the wall for balance. She had no idea how long she was out and she couldn't find anyone anywhere. It felt like days that she was stuck in that hell hole looking for an exit but at least she found something familiar, her beloved fan. She fastened her fan on her sash and started walking further. Temari walked until the world around her began spinning and she collapsed. 

**She opened her eyes but couldn't see anything as she did a three hundred and sixty trying to see what's going on around her. Temari felt hopeless as she just stood there in complete darkness.**

 **"You are not alone." A comforting voice said behind her touching her shoulder.**

 **Temari turned her head to look at the man behind her, he was smiling. The man had black hair and warm brown eyes lighting up as he smiled, but most of all his smile felt like home to her.**

Temari's eyes shot open as she started looking around for anyone, but again she saw no one. She was alone, again. 

"Yes, I am." Temari whispered sadly to herself as she picked herself back up and continued searching for a way out. 

It felt like she had been searching for days for an exit but finally, finally she found an exit. Temari was relieved as she stepped out in the sun feeling the fresh breeze through her hair, but now that's she's out she had no idea where to go next. Temari took her fan of her back and sat down next to it, using the rocks to rest her back and head against. She tilted her head up towards the sky staring at the clouds. Temari felt lost and empty inside, like a vital piece of her life was missing. 

"Temari, you're alive." A voice said surprised to her left. 

"No, you're kidding right?" Temari said sarcastically as she turned her head to the left eyeing the two men. 

"I see your attitude didn't improve." A white haired man snorted, slightly behind a black haired man. 

"Who are you?" Temari asked still sitting against the rocks. 

"I'm Orochimaru and this is Kabuto." Orochimaru grinned pleased with himself. 

"How do you know me?" Temari asked eyeing them. 

"You work for me." Orochimaru smirked. 

"I work for no one, besides why would I work for you?" Temari snorted. 

"Because I am your leader." Orochimaru said firmly with a smirk. 

"You're not my leader." Temari said glaring at him but Orochimaru simply chuckled and walked away with Kabuto following him. 

"Where the hell are you going?" Temari asked jumping up grabbing her fan. 

"Home, are you coming?" Orochimaru asked smirking while he continued to walk away. 

Temari didn't trust them neither did she like them one bit, but in the end she had nowhere else to go and she didn't want them to leave because if they leave she would be alone again and she didn't want to be alone again so reluctantly she started following them. 

"Amnesia is such a wonderful and easy way to control someone, isn't it Kabuto?" Orochimaru chuckled while Temari was still lagging behind. 

"Of course lord Orochimaru." Kabuto said smirking. 

"And here we were to retrieve a dead body, but instead we got rewarded with a strong shinobi who has no memories." Orochimaru said grinning eagerly just before Temari caught up. 

"How long was I in that place?" Temari asked. 

"About a week." Orochimaru answered.

 ** _-_**

 **A/N: OMG SIGNAL! You wouldn't believe how bloody long it takes me to review chapters especially this one. It took me a day to write this chapter but like four days to review and correct it. I'm extremely sorry, I was supposed to update yesterday but my grandma visited so I had to spend time with her not that I'm complaining I love my grandma to bits, but NEVER DOUBT ME! You're fantastic author signing out :P**

 ***Let me know what you think will happen next?**

 ***And if I should improve the story and where...**


	5. TEMARI

_**"I tried so hard and got so far but in the end it doesn't really matter I had to fall to lose it all but in the end it doesn't really matter" In the end Linkin park.**_

It's been 2 years since Temari lost her memories and lived with Orochimaru and his low lives at his hideout in the land of earth. Temari didn't like the dark and gloomy little underground village Orochimaru had, it was depressing. So Temari frequently sat outside or went to the stone village (Iwagakure) that was actually quite close to the hideout, but Orochimaru didn't approve of her little trips at all. Since the day Orochimaru found her at the abandoned hideout in the Land of sound he's been training her to control her curse mark and teaching her about everything she couldn't remember anymore. 

"Where are you going?" A hyper quirky voice asked behind her. 

In the 2 years Orochimaru was helping her he also decided to start the new sound 4, his right hand. Kabuto was obviously his left hand. The group consisted of Hikari, Minoru, Kuro and of course Temari herself. 

Hikari was the youngest of the group and is a quirky hyper girl that's always happy, she had long wavy brown hair that she wore loose, but she tied the front hair backwards and she had big blue coreleun eyes. She wore a light purple dress like outfit that was tight fitting but loosens at her arms after her elbow and her thighs. She wore black shorts under her dress where it splitted on the sides and shinobi sandals with the same purple rope like sash they all wear. Temari didn't really know and didn't care why she joined Orochimaru, she just appeared one day after Temari's training, it could be because of daddy issues for all she knows. Hikari liked to play with her enemy's before she killed them which was quite annoying because it takes time, but the reason Orochimaru chose her to join was because of the fact that she could use any chakra nature plus some unique abilities thanks to her reaper kiss, she was a descendant of a woman who could use reaper kiss, Hikari told Temari about it but she wasn't paying attention because Hikari just kept on talking and couldn't shut up ever. Orochimaru actually found her in the stone village. 

Minoru was always calm and tried to dissolve the fights between the group, well mostly just Temari's temper. He had white hair that he tied in a ponytail letting some hair loose in the front of his ears and spiky hair on the top of his head with blue eyes mixed with some green. He originally belonged to the Yamanaka clan but Orochimaru found him a fascinating experiment, that's why his hair is white, an experiment gone wrong. He originally came from the leaf village and had the same abilities as the Yamanaka clan only stronger and he could project himself some distance away from his body like a holograph. Minoru wore a plain long loose fitting shirt with loose fitting pants and like them all also the purple rope sash and shinobi sandals. Rather plain if you ask her. 

And lastly Kuro. Kuro was the oldest as well as the muscles of the group. He has a dark personality and is quite rude at times and he liked to brood alone in his room. Kuro had long, spiky, black hair and purple eyes and was unnaturally long and strong for his age. Temari had no idea where Orochimaru found Kuro and he didn't talk about it either, but Temari's theory is that he was an orphan and was alone all his life until Orochimaru found him and took him in recently, it would explain his moodiness. He wore a sleeveless grey shirt on and baggy pants using the rope sash as a belt with the bow on his left side instead of behind him and black shinobi sandals as well as black fingerless gloves like Temari. 

"Out." Temari answered bluntly. 

"Are you going to Iwagakure?" Hikari asked crinkling her nose, she didn't like that place at all. 

"Yep." Temari said popping her p as she continued to the hideout's exit. 

"Then I'm staying." Hikari said crossing her arms and stopped following Temari. 

"Thank goodness." Temari said in relieve. 

"You want me to accompany you." Minoru asked as a hologram of himself appeared in front of her. 

"No, not really." Temari stated bluntly as she walked right through him. 

"Are you sure? You're quite lonely you know." Minoru said calmly. 

"Stop reading me Yamanaka." Temari said glaringly. 

She hated it when he did that. Along with his abilities he picked up a new trick, he could tell what someone is thinking and how there feeling by touching them even his bloody hologram picked the trick up. 

"I'll meet you at Iwagakure." Minoru said before his hologram disappeared. 

Temari scowled as she exited the underground hideout. They were not her friends she didn't have friends and she didn't need friends, besides friends were only temporarily and they only abandoned you in the end. She wanted Hikari and Minoru to leave her alone, Kuro was already doing a bloody good job at that. Temari walked calmly to the village as she stared at the clouds in the warm sun, but she could feel winter approaching fast as the sun got colder by the day almost like her heart. 

"Why do you always stare at the clouds?" Minoru said as he caught up to Temari. 

"Don't know, guess it feels familiar." Temari said. 

"Did you always do that?" Minoru asked now next to her. 

"Nah I highly doubt it, I wouldn't do something that's such a waste of time like this, must be someone I knew that did it." Temari shrugged. 

"Are you not in the least bit curious about who did it?" Minoru asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"Sure, but it doesn't really matter anymore." Temari said looking away from the clouds and dead ahead of her. 

"And why's that?" Minoru asked. 

"What is this Minoru, 21 questions?" Temari asked annoyed. 

"I'm just making conversation." Minoru smiled. 

"Well, you suck at it." Temari said bluntly. 

"Well, I don't see you trying." Minoru interjected. 

"I'm not the one who said you should tag along." Temari said rolling her eyes. 

"You just don't want to answer because you don't want to show any weakness by admitting you feel hurt because none of your so called friends have found you in 2 years." Minoru stated. 

"I told you to get out my head and don't you have to touch someone to read them." Temari said with a twitching eyebrow. 

"Not anymore." Minoru grinned. 

"Dammit you people are annoying." Temari said annoyed. 

"At least we have personality." Minoru defended. 

"That was lame Minoru, even for you and I'm not here to be nice." Temari said rolling her eyes. 

"Why are you here?" Minoru asked. 

"I could ask you the same question." Temari said narrowing her eyes. 

"I'm here because Orochimaru threatened my clan then I came to realise that Orochimaru had more to offer than my clan could ever hope to offer so my loyalty sifted to Orochimaru, how 'bout you?" Minoru asked. 

"Because he was the person who found me when I woke up with no memories." Temari answered getting tired of Minoru. 

"That's ruff." Minoru said with sympathy. 

"Now for the love of kami, shut up." Temari groaned as they entered the village and just strolled through the village without any purpose. 

"Hey Temari! You're alive after all!" An overly hyper guy exclaimed appearing out of nowhere with his green jumpsuit. 

"Uhmmm hey and yes I'm alive." Temari answered the man with bushy eyebrows awkwardly. 

"It was great seeing you again Temari but I have to get back to the leaf village!" The guy exclaimed and dashed off. 

"Who's that?" Minoru asked as they watched him dash off. 

"I have no bloody idea." Temari said shaking her head. 

"That was weird." Minoru said with a frown. 

"Yes it was, let's go." Temari said with a frown as she left. 

After they walked for a while Temari found a bar and decided to go into the bar and order some sake, with or without Minoru. 

"What are you doing?" Minoru asked with a raised eyebrow as he sat in the seat on the other side of the table. 

"I'm drinking, you want some?" Temari asked as she placed her fan next to her. 

"No, I'm good." Minoru said calmly. 

"Wimp." Temari scoffed as she started drinking. 

"Lord Orochimaru is not going to like this one bit." Minoru mused. 

"Calm down Minoru, I'm not going to get drunk." Temari said as she rolled her eyes. 

Temari stayed at the bar until the sun settled behind the horizon while Minoru sat there waiting for her. When it started getting dark Temari finally left the bar and headed back to the hideout in silence with Minoru by her side like a shadow. 

"Why do you drink?" Minoru asked Temari, she wasn't an alcoholic but the only reason she goes to Iwagakure is to drink at that bar. 

"Because it numbs the pain..." Temari whispered to herself. 

Minoru didn't hear what she said but he read her mind and it was quite obvious that she wasn't willing to talk to him anymore, she wanted to be left alone. It was well into the night when they finally reached the hideout again with an impatient Kabuto waiting outside. 

"Where have you been?" Kabuto asked annoyed at Temari. 

"Iwagakure." Temari said bluntly as she walked right past Kabuto into the hideout. 

"You can't just go where ever you want when you want." Kabuto glared at Temari. 

"You don't own me, I'll go where I want when I want to." Temari said as she disappeared around the corner making Kabuto scowl. 

"Where's Lord Orochimaru?" Minoru asked Kabuto calmly. 

"In his champers, I'll take you there." Kabuto said. 

Minoru and Kabuto walked through the winding tunnels to Orochimaru's cambers. The halls were dark and gloomy as usual with an occasional light to provide some light. There were few people in the hideout but there were still some people to fill the empty rooms and spaces. They finally got to the centre of the hideout, Orochimaru's chamber. The hideout was specifically designed so Orochimaru's chamber would be in the middle making it possible for Orochimaru to know exactly what's going on in the lair if he focused his chakra. 

"Aaahhh Kabuto, Minoru I assume Temari's back." Orochimaru smiled sinisterly from the throne he was sitting on. 

"Yes Lord Orochimaru." Kabuto said bowing with Minoru. 

"So what is it you want Minoru?" Orochimaru said eerily resting his head on his hand. 

"There was someone in Iwagakure that knew Temari." Minoru said calmly. 

Minoru acted like he was on equal ground with his team but in reality he was a spy for Orochimaru, specifically to keep an eye on Temari and monitor her every move. While Temari was the group's leader so to say. 

"Is that so?" Orochimaru asked amused. 

"Yes, he was from Konoha and wore a green jumpsuit with busy eyebrows and a bowl haircut." Minoru continued. 

"Rock Lee." Kabuto mused. 

"Should I kill him before he reaches Konoha?" Minoru asked lifting his head to look at Orochimaru. 

"No, let him tell their silly little village that Temari is alive after all, I've hidden and moulded her enough." Orochimaru chuckled eerily. 

"Very well then." Minoru said standing up to leave. 

"Minoru." Orochimaru said calling him back. 

"Yes, lord Orochimaru." Minoru asked turning back. 

"I have a little mission for you and Temari, why don't you call her for me?" Orochimaru smiled eerily. 

Minoru sat where he was on the ground and focused his energy to where he sensed Temari's chakra signature was, and formed a hologram at her location. Temari was sitting peacefully on her bed staring at her roof until a hologram of Minoru appeared out of nowhere. 

"You know it's polite to knock first, I could've been naked for all you know." Temari said bluntly as she turned her head to look at Minoru. 

"Don't be ridiculous, Orochimaru wants to see you." Minoru scoffed. 

"Why?" Temari asked narrowing her eyes. 

"We're going on a mission." Minoru stated. 

"It's about time." Temari said swinging her legs of the bed standing up.

"Tell Orochimaru I'm on my way." Temari said as she fastened her fan on her back and left her room. 

She navigated her way through the dark lit tunnels to Orochimaru's cambers. She probably knew this place better than Orochimaru himself because of the fact that she gets bored a lot then stroll around the hideout, exploring it. 

"Where are you going?" Hikari asked as she came around the corner and almost bumped into Temari. 

"Hikari have you noticed that you always ask me that question when you see me?" Temari asked with a raised eyebrow as she made her way to Orochimaru's cambers while Hikari tailed her. 

"Yeah it's because I'm curious." Hikari said rolling her eyes. 

"Well I'm on my way to Orochimaru." Temari answered Hikari's question. 

"Oh, are you in trouble?" Hikari gasped with wide eyes.

"No, I'm going on a mission." Temari said rolling her eyes. 

"Lucky, I wanna go on a mission." Hikari said pouting while she crossed her arms like a little girl. 

"Maybe next time kiddo." Temari smirked as she entered Orochimaru's chamber leaving Hikari at the door. 

"You wanted to see me." Temari said as she entered. 

Orochimaru was still sitting on his throne with Kabuto next to him and Minoru leaning against the wall close to the door. 

"Yes I want a certain scroll that's being transported by some leaf ninja. I want you two to go fetch me that scroll. They will be travelling on the road between Suna and Konoha you can intercept them in between the villages." Orochimaru smiled amused. 

"Is that all?" Temari asked, it sounded too simple. 

"Yes, it's extremely easy." Orochimaru said echoing Temari's thoughts. 

"What's the catch?" Temari asked eyeing Orochimaru. 

"There is no catch my dear." Orochimaru said chuckling eerily not convincing Temari. 

"Okay then when do we leave?" Temari asked with crossed arms. 

"Tomorrow morning." Orochimaru smirked. 

"Right." Temari said as she left while Minoru bowed first then left after Temari. 

"What's in the scroll?" Kabuto asked curiously. 

"Just some info on Konoha's population number and military power." Orochimaru chuckled. 

"It's risky we don't know much about her amnesia, someone could trigger her memory then you'll lose a very capable shinobi." Kabuto said with a raised eyebrow. 

"I highly doubt that." Orochimaru said confidently. 

"Is that so, then what about Shikamaru?" Kabuto said. 

"He may be a problem." Orochimaru answered displeased.

... 

**Temari stood in the black abyss she has become familiar with as her dreams. She just stood there not doing the trouble in looking around because she knew full well what was going to happen, some people she didn't know was going to appear then die taking a piece of her heart every time they leave especially the last man.**

 **"Temari, where were you when I needed you?" An older looking man with dark red hair appeared in front of her as she sighed and sat down.**

 **"Don't know old man, maybe if you say more than 'where were you' I could answer." Temari said rolling her eyes as the blood started trickling down his mouth as he fell to the ground, dead.**

 **"Temari, where were you when I needed you?" The next guy said this time he had brown her unlike the other two.**

 **"What's your name?" Temari sighed as she asked him in vain just as he also dropped dead.**

 **"Temari, where were you when I needed you?" The other red head said but this one was young, still just a kid.**

 **"Yet again I don't know kiddo." Temari said.**

 **She knew it wasn't going to help if she answered them but it felt wrong to ignore them while they died, she still had a heart after all.**

 **"Temari." A voice said behind her.**

 **Temari smiled to herself a little, but it was a sad smile. This guy was more talkative than the rest and oddly enough she sometimes enjoyed the dead man's company, but in the end she doesn't like where the conversation goes.**

 **"Hey again." Temari said to the black haired man.**

 **"What's up?" He replied amused.**

 **"Always bloody fantastic, how 'bout you?" She replied resting her head on her hand with her back to him.**

 **"I'm pretty sure you know by now." He said bluntly.**

 **"Yeah, it's just common courtesy to ask." Temari shrugged.**

 **"It's also common courtesy to look at someone when they speak." He retorted.**

 **"Of course it is, I'm just too lazy to turn around." Temari said as she sat comfortably looking over her shoulder.**

 **"Watch out troublesome woman, you're starting to sound like me." The guy chuckled.**

 **"Who are you?" Temari asked curiously as she turned around to face the abused man.**

 **"I can't tell you that." The guy said cryptically.**

 **"Why not?" Temari asked with a raised eyebrow.**

 **"How can I tell you something if you don't even know yourself? I may control this dream but this is still your dream." The guy shrugged, well at least he tried to.**

 **"Don't flatter yourself, this is my dream, I am in control." Temari said glaring at him as she turned around to face him.**

 **"Troublesome woman." The guy sighed but started coughing making Temari furrow her brows slightly.**

 **"What happened to you?" Temari asked concerned.**

 **Temari didn't know the guy but every time he was in pain her heart clenched together in concern. It's like her mind couldn't remember but her heart never forgot.**

 **"You happened." He replied in pain making a wave of pain shot through Temari's heart.**

 **"Why would I attack you if I don't even know you?" Temari replied.**

 **"Who are you trying to convince, me or yourself?" He said through gritted teeth as he sank to his knees.**

 **"Let me help you." Temari said in vain as she stood up to help him ignoring his previous question because she knew he was right.**

 **"No." He said shaking his head slightly.**

 **Temari stopped in front of him when he answered. He never wanted her help. She looked with eyes full of sadness as she saw him fall to the ground and finally die.**

 **"Who are you?" Temari whispered sadly to his dead body.**

Temari's eyes shot open as she scanned her room finding nothing. She sighed as she sat up in bed rubbing her eyes sleepily. It was a routine by now; sleep, dream about someone who she can never seem to remember then wake up in the middle of the night. She was getting tired of seeing the black haired man dying over and over and over again. Temari stared at the necklace she always wore. She didn't know where it came from but she woke up with it and never took it off because it felt like it had some value from her past, she just needed to remember what. Temari sighed again and decided to go back to sleep again but it was hard to fall asleep when you know you are alone.

*******************************************************************************************************************************************

Temari woke up from a shrill scream next to her bed. She turned her head to the side where the sound originated from, glaring at her alarm clock. Temari finally raised her arm to turn the evil machine off while she swung her legs off the bed and walked to her bathroom to take a shower. After stripping out of her clothes Temari stepped under the warm stream letting it message all her problems out of her. 

After Temari finished her shower she brushed her teeth and tied her hair in her usual four ponytails. She got dressed then quickly grabbed her stuff while she fastened her fan on her back as she navigated her way through the empty tunnels. When she finally made it to the kitchen witch the sound 4 shared she grabbed some food and rations and ate the food on her way out and placed the rations in her bag. Most of the food in the fridge including the food Temari grabbed on the go was labelled Hikari since everybody ate her food but everyone ignored the labels anyway and kept eating her food. 

"Let's go and get out my head." Temari hissed as she felt Minoru in her head but after she said it his presence disappeared. 

Temari saw some light in the end of the tunnel indicating that she went the right way since she was outside a minute later with Minoru waiting for her. It was still very early in the morning as Temari and Minoru started their journey to the area they would meet the Konoha team to steal their scroll.

*******************************************************************************************************************************************

"Come on guys keep up, we're almost home." A blonde and blue eyed kunoichi said with a reassuring smile. 

"Can't we just take a little break Ino-sensei?" Akira moaned as she sat on the ground. 

"Yeah, your legs are twice as long as ours." Ruth said sitting next to Akira. 

Ruth and Akira was Mirai's teammates while Shikamaru was their sensei but Ino and Chouji regularly took his place on missions. Ruth and Akira was both boys but Ruth didn't belong to a ninja clan he had light brown hair with a mix of brown and green eyes while Akira belonged to a ninja family and had blonde hair and brown eyes. 

"You're probably right let's take a little break." Ino chuckled sitting on a tree stump on the ground. 

"What? Come on Ino-sensei we already had a break, let's just go." A girl with shaggy black hair whined. 

"Mirai just sit down, we're tired." Ruth said glaring at her. 

"Why so eager anyway, you have a boyfriend we don't know about?" Akira asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"Don't be ridiculous, I just have a bad feeling." Mirai said with furrowed eyebrows. 

"You have great instincts kid, you should listen to them." A voice said with amusement lace in her voice in a tree to the left of the group. 

"That voice..." Ino whispered with wide eyes as she shot up and stood in front of the kids looking at Temari and Minoru in the tree above them. 

"Temari, Minoru, we thought Orochimaru killed you both" Ino said eyeing them and also noticing Minoru's hair colour changed. 

"I knew it! Blondie you're alive." Mirai said ecstatic as she ran out from behind Ino. 

"I have a name brat." Temari glared at her doing a flip out the tree while swinging her fan releasing a powerful wind in their direction. 

"Mirai, watch out!" Ino exclaimed tackling her out the way of Temari's sharp wind. 

"I got this Minoru." Temari said on the ground as Minoru nodded in the tree. 

"Temari! What's wrong with you?" Ino asked confused getting of Mirai. 

"First of all I have no idea who you lot are or how you know my name and secondly nothing's wrong with me." Temari smirked placing her open fan behind her. 

"How can you not know us? You're Shikamaru's girlfriend, aren't you?" Mirai asked outraged. 

"No." Temari said bluntly. 

"Wind release: wind cutter technique!" Temari exclaimed swinging her fan. 

Ino scowled as she took the hit sending her flying against a tree behind her as well as Akira and Ruth rendering them unconscious but luckily Mirai dodged in time as she became one with a tree nearby. 

"No..." Ino gasped when she saw Temari didn't have a headband but she saw Shikamaru's chakra stone, it surprised her, she thought Temari would've thrown it away. 

"Temari where is your forehead protector?" Ino asked with narrowed eyes as she grunted while standing up. 

"I don't have one." Temari shrugged sending another wave of sharp winds. 

Ino grabbed Akira and Ruth and placed them in the forest where Temari couldn't hit them on accident. Just when Ino placed them on the ground Mirai appeared out of a nearby tree. 

"You can run, but you can't hide. I'll flatten this forest if you don't come out." Temari exclaimed from the road. 

Ino scowled knowing she wasn't bluffing and if she did exactly that Ino as well as Shikamaru's team was going to die. 

"Ino-sensei, why is Temari attacking us?" Mirai asked confused. 

"She doesn't remember us." Ino answered concerned. 

"How can she not remember us?" Mirai exclaimed in outrage. 

"She has amnesia." Ino said looking at a baffled Mirai. 

"Cover me." Ino said as she dashed out of the woods with Mirai on her tail. 

"Mind body switch technique!" Ino exclaimed as they jumped out of the woods behind Temari while Mirai grabbed her father's chakra blades. 

Ino's body went limp as Temari grew awfully quite with her head hanging while Mirai stood ready with her father's chakra blades. However Mirai was extremely suspicious over Temari's partner, he just sat there with no worry in the world not even attempting to even help Temari, like she could get out Ino's jutsu on her own. 

_Ino's jutsu was successful as she dug around Temari's mind in hopes of finding the source of her amnesia. After a while she did in fact find the source, the part of Temari's brain where she stored her memories was being suppressed by her curse mark._

_It was probably because this one was stronger and the fact that Temari got stabbed caused her to lose her memories. Ino was about to see if she could do anything about her memories but before she could do anything, everything went black and Temari appeared bringing her pain and loneliness with her._

_"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Temari asked outraged._

_"I'm trying to help, I'm a friend Temari." Ino said with furrowed eyebrows._

_"Then you shouldn't have abandoned me." Temari said glaringly._

_"I would never abandon anyone. Neither would Shikamaru, especially you, he loves you Temari. Is that what Orochimaru told you when you woke up?" Ino asked reading her memories, she was baffled by all the pain and loneliness Temari endured every day._

_"I don't know who's Shikamaru now get out of my head!" Temari said through gritted teeth._

_And just like that Ino got overwhelmed by Temari's control and got rendered unconscious while she kicked Ino out her mind._  
 _  
_

Mirai shook Ino a little when she saw blood starting to trickle out of Ino's nose.

"Don't bother brat, she's out cold." Temari chuckled while her head was still hanging making Mirai eyes widen in shock. 

"Hidden shadow snake hands." Temari said amused with a glint of darkness in her eyes as snakes extended out her left arm grabbing Mirai at her neck arms and legs. 

Mirai struggled against them but stopped when the snake bite around her neck tightened as they dragged her closer to Temari. Mirai's eyes widened in horror when she saw Temari take out a kunai and she was powerless to stop her. Mirai tensed when she finally reached Temari but lost conciseness when the back of the kunai struck Mirai's head. In the 2 years Temari got trained by Orochimaru her heart became black, but not completely. Temari retracted the snakes that were her arm and let Mirai fall to the ground. 

"I have the scroll." Minoru said when he got the scroll from Ino. 

"Good, let's go." Temari said as she stared at the little brat on the floor with furrowed eyebrows. 

"Are you coming?" Minoru asked as he left and realised Temari wasn't following him. 

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." Temari said as she pealed her eyes away from the child and left the team from Konoha in the ground behind them. 

_**-**_  
 **A/N: I watched Les miserable while I was reviewing this chapter and OMG was it a good musical and I rarely give out compliments when it comes to art and OMG who knew the sexy beast named Hugh Jackman could sing… Please comment, I always love to hear what you guys think and tell me what you want me to improve and who's your favourite character. And yet again thanks for your patience my lovelies, but NEVER DOUBT ME, you're fantastic author signing out :P**


	6. SHIKAMARU

**A/N: Hello my lovelies I just want to clear something up, the reason Neji is still alive is because I like him... With that in mind please continue with the chapter and I hope you guys like it. Please remember to leave a comment and if you have a question feel free to ask :P**

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**

 **"Too** _ **far away to feel you, but I can't forget your skin. Wonder what you're up too. What state of mind you're in. That's when I run all of these thousand miles to get you back." - Thousand miles Tove Lo  
**_ _ **_**_

It was 2 years since Shikamaru lost Temari and life was the same as usual except with less joy it had every few month when Temari decided to come to Konoha, because in the end he enjoyed her company even if she is troublesome. At the moment Shikamaru was sitting at his favourite spot under a tree on a cliff. He found himself spending a lot of time under that tree the past 2 years but not because of his lazy habit to sleep or look at clouds, but actually searching for Temari. He kept himself as busy as he possibly could because all he could think about was Temari and he didn't know how to make it stop, so he threw himself under work to keep his mind busy, which was ironic due to his lazy nature. And that's why Shikamaru has a gennin team instead of just training Mirai every now and then like he planned, but life always did like to kick his plans in the ass. Shikamaru's team was away on a mission to Suna with Ino as their captain while he was sitting under his tree.

He didn't feel like facing Gaara or Kankurou. The last time he saw them it didn't go very well, when he told them of Temari's abduction Kankurou went on a rage and yelled at Shikamaru while Gaara was eerily silent but he didn't miss the fact that Gaara's gourd was shaking wildly and for a moment he contemplated on pulling the stopper out and release all the trapped sand inside, but that wouldn't be fair. Kankurou was not happy about the fact that Shikamaru's attention shifted away from him and quickly brought it back to himself by punching Shikamaru then continued his rant while Shikamaru just stood there wishing he could simply walk away. Shikamaru felt frustrated that 2 years went by and he still didn't have a clue where the hell she was, but every now and then his shadow would get a trace of where she was and when he told Naruto he would tell him to wait for back up or a team, but when they were finally ready to leave Temari would yet again vanish without a trace. Shikamaru was just about to start focusing his chakra and look for Temari when he almost got ran over by a green flash.

"Lee, what the hell are you doing?" Shikamaru asked with a twitching eyebrow as he laid on his back next to the tree where he fell out of the way.

"I have came to inform you that I have returned from my mission!" Lee exclaimed proudly.

"Why are you informing me about it, go inform Naruto about it." Shikamaru said annoyed.

"I already did, he told me to fetch you!" Lee exclaimed.

"Why? It's just a mission report." Shikamaru said rubbing his templates.

"I don't know, he just told me to call you. Do you want me to carry you there, it would be excellent training!" Lee exclaimed with a fist.

"Do not touch me." Shikamaru said quickly before Lee could throw him on his back.

"How troublesome." Shikamaru sighed as he stood up and walked to Naruto's office with a disappointed Lee next to him.

"I thought your team had a mission!" Lee exclaimed next to Shikamaru.

"They have, Ino's with them." Shikamaru shrugged.

"Oh, why didn't you go?" Lee asked.

"Because Lee, I'm busy." Shikamaru sighed.

Lee kept quiet when they entered the Hokage's mansion and soon enough they were at Naruto's office.

"What do you want Naruto?" Shikamaru asked after he walked in the office.

"I need you to do this paperwork while I listen to Lee." Naruto said handing Shikamaru the paperwork.

"Why didn't you just get a clone to do it?" Shikamaru asked bluntly as he took the paperwork from Naruto.

"Because then you wouldn't have a job anymore and you want overload work so now I'm giving you an overload work." Naruto shrugged while Shikamaru glared at him.

"Go ahead Lee, what's your mission report?" Naruto asked leaning back in his chair.

"The mission was a success and the Tsuchikage sends her regards!" Lee said giving a thumps up.

"Good to hear, anything else?" Naruto asked with a grin.

"Now that I think about it there is something else..." Lee mused earning himself a little of Shikamaru's interest.

"Yeah, what's that?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I was just on my way back to Konoha after I visited the Tsuchikage when I bumped into Temari!" Lee exclaimed making Shikamaru's head shot up as he heard her name and Naruto's eyes to widen.

"What?" Naruto exclaimed standing up shocked.

"Yeah I thought she was dead but there she was strolling around the village." Lee exclaimed amazed.

"Where is she now?" Shikamaru exclaimed as he also stood up.

"I don't know, I didn't ask I just greeted her as I passed by!" Lee said with furrowed eyebrows.

"You idiot!" Shikamaru exclaimed as he grabbed Lee by his collar and pinned him to the wall behind them surprising Lee to no extend.

"Shikamaru!" Naruto exclaimed angrily behind him.

"You should've brought her back with you, I don't care if you did it kicking and screaming the whole way back." Shikamaru said in a dangerously low tone glaring at a shocked Lee.

"Shikamaru, that's enough!" Naruto roared as he ripped him off Lee glaring at Shikamaru.

"I'm going to Iwagakure." Shikamaru said as they all just stood there.

"Last time I checked I'm still the Hokage, Shikamaru." Naruto glared as Shikamaru sighed and sat down again.

"You can't stop me." Shikamaru said crossing his arms leaning back in his chair.

"No, but you will listen to me!" Naruto said sternly as Shikamaru raised an eyebrow beckoning for Naruto to continue.

"If you're going, you're taking a 3 man squad with you, and 1 of them is going to be Lee since he saw Temari last." Naruto said crossing his arms.

"And the third member?" Shikamaru asked with a hard stare.

"Neji." Naruto said bluntly.

"Troublesome. Lee, go 'inform' Neji about our mission. I'm leaving in 10 minutes." Shikamaru said as he stood up and left while Lee dashed out the window to find Neji.

Shikamaru originally planned to walk in the street to his apartment but decided against it since he knew a lot of people who could interrupt him on his way to his apartment, so instead of walking in the streets he took to the roofs which was faster anyway. Shikamaru opened his apartment door and grabbed everything he thought he would need and stuffed it all in a backpack then left for Konoha's gates where he would meet Lee and Neji. Shikamaru made good time as he arrived at the gates 2 minutes early instead of 20 minutes late. He waited patiently for Neji and Lee, but he swore when those 2 minutes was done he was leaving, with or without them. Shikamaru leaned against the gate and crossed his arms leaning his head back against the gate while he looked at the clouds. Shikamaru sighed and closed his eyes. He missed Temari so much, he just wanted her in his arms again. He wanted to drown in her teal eyes, to stroke her golden hair out her fierce face, to get lost in her beautiful smile, but mostly he wanted to taste her lips on his again.

"Shikamaru!" Lee exclaimed in front of Shikamaru making him open his eyes.

But you couldn't always get what you wanted...

"Did you fall asleep again?" Neji smirked behind Lee.

But damn could he try...

"No, let's go." Shikamaru said with a determined look as he sighed and pushed himself of the gate and dashed into the woods with Lee and Neji behind him.

Shikamaru decided to take the route to Suna for a while then start going north west towards Iwagakure. They didn't travel long before they found something troubling. They found Mirai lying unconscious in the middle of the road and Ino a meter behind her. Mirai didn't look that bad but she was covered in what looked like snake bites while Ino had dry blood that came out her nose and was covered in gashes. Shikamaru stopped and studied the scene before him. Where is Akira and Ruth? Shikamaru went over to Mirai to feel if she still had a pulse then to Ino and to his relieve both of their hearts where beating strongly.

"Neji, find Akira, Ruth and the person who did this." Shikamaru said as he stared in the direction where Iwagakure was.

"I found Akira and Ruth, but not the person who did this." Neji said as he and Lee left to fetch Akira and Ruth.

Shikamaru continued to stare in the direction of Iwagakure. He glanced at Mirai and Ino for a moment with a concerned facial expression but then he stared in the direction of Iwagakure again. He was so damn close, yet so far...

"Shika-sensei..." Mirai said groggily.

"Mirai, are you okay?" Shikamaru said as his head shot her way.

"Yeah, where's Ino-sensei?" Mirai said threw half shut eyes.

"She's right behind you and she's okay." Shikamaru said as he bended beside her.

"Where's Temari?" Mirai asked her eye lids closing but she quickly opened them halfway again like she's trying to stay awake.

"She's not here, why?" Shikamaru asked taken aback.

"I'm sorry Shika..." Mirai said softly her eyelids closing again.

"Mirai!" Shikamaru said shaking her softly but eagerly, but he got no answer.

"We should get them back to Konoha." Neji said as he picked Ino up bridal style while Lee had Akira and Ruth over his shoulders leaving Shikamaru to stare at Mirai with a frown and wide eyes.

"Come on Shikamaru, we can finish the mission after we get them to a hospital." Neji said as he turned back to look at a frozen Shikamaru.

Shikamaru shook his head and picked Mirai up, but hesitated before he left. He took one last look in the direction of Iwagakure and with a sigh he turned to follow Neji and Lee.

"I'm sorry..." Mirai whispered groggily her eyes still closed.

"Don't be." Shikamaru said as they made their way further from Temari and closer to Konoha.

***************

"What happened?" Sakura asked as she stormed to the hospital's lobby where Shikamaru's group is.

"We don't know, we found them like this in the middle of the road." Shikamaru said as Sakura examined them.

"Follow me." Sakura said as she walked to a hospital room nearby with Shikamaru's group following her.

Sakura pushed open a door and held it open for them as they entered the room and placed Akira, Ruth, Mirai and Ino on a vacated bed each. Lee and Neji turned to leave the room so Sakura could examine them but Shikamaru stayed rooted in place as he crossed his arms and looked at them.

"Please leave Shikamaru they'll be fine, I'm just going to examine them." Sakura sighed as she stopped working to look at Shikamaru.

"When will they wake up?" Shikamaru asked eagerly.

"Don't know I'll have to examine them first." Sakura said bluntly.

Shikamaru sighed as he left the hospital room dragging a chair with him on the way out. He placed his newly acquired chair opposite the door in the hallway and slumped in it leaning his head back and closing his eyes as he waited for Sakura.

"When do we leave for the mission?" Lee asked eagerly.

"After Ino wakes up." Shikamaru said calmly opening his eyes.

"Why?" Neji asked eyeing Shikamaru.

"Because she may have useful information we need considering Temari." Shikamaru said sighing.

"How can you be so certain?" Neji asked with crossed arms.

"Mirai has snake bites, how many Shinobi you know uses snakes to fight?" Shikamaru asked rhetorically.

"Good point, I'll go inform Naruto." Neji said as he left making Shikamaru close his eyes again and Lee leaving shortly after Neji, probably to train.

Shikamaru couldn't tell who the attacker was but something that narrowed his infinite list was the fact that Mirai had snake bites. Also the other thing bothering him was the fact that Ino had blood coming out of her nose. Shikamaru had a lot of theories running through his mind but not one of them would make any logical sense. But one thing Shikamaru was certain about was the fact that the attacker had something to do with Orochimaru, how else did Mirai get those snake bites. At least Shikamaru didn't have to wait long before Sakura appeared before him.

"And?" Shikamaru asked opening one eye to look at Sakura as he heard her sigh.

"The three gennin are okay and should be waking up soon plus Mirai's snake bites are not poisonous but Ino on the other hand is a bit more complicated, she's fine on the outside but there's something wrong mentally and there's nothing I can do to fix it. We'll have to ask the gennin for more information before I can diagnose Ino." Sakura said with a professional tone.

"Do you remember when you fought Ino in the chunnin exams?" Shikamaru asked as he stood up.

"Yeah, why?" Sakura asked following Shikamaru in the hospital room while he dragged the chair back.

"She took over your soul in your own body, but your soul was stronger than hers plus her chakra was almost depleted making it possible for you to release the jutsu." Shikamaru said as he sat back down in the chair between Ino and Mirai's bed crossing his arms.

"What's your point Shikamaru?" Sakura asked eyeing him.

"I think this may be the same case, but just on a higher more dangerous scale without them actually releasing the jutsu." Shikamaru said with a sigh.

"Good eye. You're probably right, but I still don't want to tamper with something like her soul. All we can do is wait." Sakura said as Mirai started to stir in her bed catching Shikamaru and Sakura's attention.

Shikamaru and Sakura stared at Mirai waiting for her to wake up, but she only stirred then went limp again.

"Does Sai know Ino is in the hospital?" Sakura asked turning her attention back at Shikamaru.

"I highly doubt it, except if high and mighty Neji or Lee left to tell him." Shikamaru sighed as he slumped in his seat with his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, you have a point there." Sakura chuckled.

"I'm quickly going to find Sai, I'll be back soon." Sakura said with a smile as she left.

Shikamaru sighed as he was yet again left alone with his thoughts and nobody to distract him except unconscious people, but they made poor distractions. Shikamaru took his hands out of his pockets and walked to the window, watching as the clouds roll casually by while his hands made their way back in his pockets.

"Shika-sensei..." Mirai groaned groggily behind him making him shot his head in her direction.

"You're finally awake, how do you feel?" Shikamaru asked as he walked lazily to her side.

"Sleepy." Mirai said yawning as she sat up, but grabbed the back of her head in pain when she was up.

"Easy, you troublesome child." Shikamaru said with a small smile making her roll her eyes.

"It's been a while since I saw you smile, Shika-sensei." Mirai said solemnly with a warm smile making Shikamaru roll his eyes.

"So what happened out there?" Shikamaru asked with suspicion laced in his voice making Mirai tense up at the question.

"Well, you see Shika-sensei, we were on our way back to Konoha when Ino-sensei told us to take a break and that's when we got attacked..." Mirai said hesitantly not wanting to be the bearer of bad news.

"Yes..." Shikamaru said sitting in the chair next to her bed urging her to continue.

"We got attacked by Temari!" Mirai blurted out as she looked down at her clenched fists.

Shikamaru froze the moment that sentence left Mirai's mouth, the world around him stood still as his eyes widened in shock. Shikamaru couldn't wrap his head around the idea of Temari being so close to the village without him noticing it or Temari attacking Mirai or Ino, she may have not liked either one of them very much but he knew she saw Ino as a friend and that she cared about Mirai. How could this happen? Was the only thing running through Shikamaru's mind as he stared into space with wide eyes. Shikamaru also noticed she didn't call Temari blondie or his girlfriend anymore.

"Why?" Shikamaru asked in disbelieve with wide eyes.

"Ino-sensei said she has amnesia, I don't know why or how but she used her jutsu on Temari but somehow Temari got out of it, her teammate didn't even help her get out she did it on her own." Mirai said with a frown while Shikamaru sat there looking like he was not completely aware of his surroundings around him anymore.

"Who was her teammate?" Shikamaru asked softly.

"I don't know Ino-sensei called him by his name but I can't remember his name anymore. Ino-sensei seemed to know him. He has white her tied the same way Ino-sensei's dad tied his hair and he has greenish blue eyes." Mirai said looking at a baffled Shikamaru.

"Mirai, how did you get those snake bites?" Shikamaru choked out.

"Temari did this freaky jutsu where her arm turned into snakes and used them to pin me." Mirai said looking at a broken Shikamaru, feeling slightly guilty that she had to tell him.

Shikamaru turned his head slowly to look at Mirai just when the door swung open making him look away again, but she didn't miss the sadness that lingered in Shikamaru's eyes.

"Ino!" Sai said as he immediately went to her side and took her hand in his stroking her cheek comfortingly.

"Oh good, you're awake." Sakura said cheerfully at Mirai, but all the cheerfulness left her face when she saw how sad Shikamaru looked and how tense Mirai was.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked concern painted on her face.

Shikamaru didn't even react to Sakura or Sai who entered the room he simply stood up void of all emotion trying to stay strong and not crumble before Mirai, but you could see his despair in his eyes. Sakura stared at him as he left the room slowly like a zombie disappearing around the corner.

"Shikamaru!" Sakura called when he disappeared running after him.

He didn't get very far when Sakura caught up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder to make him stop, but he didn't react to anything the only thing she achieved was making him stop.

"Talk to me Shikamaru." Sakura said softly.

"What's there to say?" Shikamaru asked void of any emotion not turning around.

"What did she tell you?" Sakura asked concerned.

"Temari has amnesia. It's the perfect opportunity for Orochimaru to mold her the exact way he wanted her and he took it. She knows Orochimaru's jutsu, that's why Mirai has snake bites and she kicked Ino out of her mind, but it's not that simple. Ino is still unconscious meaning that Temari probably didn't release the jutsu so the question remaining is, where the hell is Ino's soul?" Shikamaru said bitterly.

Sakura was baffled at what Shikamaru told her giving him the chance to shrug Sakura off and continued shuffling away.

"Call me when Ino wakes up." Shikamaru said before he disappeared around the corner.

By the time Shikamaru stepped outside the hospital the sun had already disappeared behind gloomy grey clouds. Shikamaru sighed as he walked to his apartment. He didn't make it far when a few rain drops started to leak from the clouds and before Shikamaru registered anything it was pouring, but Shikamaru didn't care anymore he was just going through the motions. Shikamaru walked the streets alone, everyone retreated to shelter when the storm began. He wondered what Temari was doing at this moment, was she also walking alone in the rain like him or was she cooped up in Orochimaru's hideout. Shikamaru found himself in front of Konoha's big gates staring out at the forest in front of him, he didn't remember going this way but he was also just going where his feet dragged him. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he started focusing his chakra on Temari's necklace and in a short amount of time his shadow started to extend in the direction between Suna and Iwagakure.

If he was an irrational man like Naruto he would've probably ran that way now, but he wasn't. He was going to wait for Ino to wake up and give him a breakdown of what she saw in Temari's mind and only after that was he going to bring her home. Shikamaru tore himself from the gates and dragged himself to his apartment that was luckily not that far away. Shikamaru was finally at his apartment door resting his head against the door before opening it, his seconds felt like minutes and his minutes felt like hours. He dripped all over his apartment as he walked over to his couch. He didn't bother switching the lights on or drying off, he just closed the door and collapsed on the couch. He leaned his head against the couch making his head tilt up. Shikamaru wasn't keeping track of time he only barely noticed the room getting darker by the hour. He just kept staring at the roof listening to the rain outside.

 _ **"I thought I would find you here." A voice laced with amusement said behind Shikamaru who was lying on his favourite spot under the tree with closed eyes.**_

 _ **"And how did you know that?" Shikamaru said with a yawn.**_

 _ **"You're predictable." Temari shrugged.**_

 _ **"Is that so?" Shikamaru asked bluntly.**_

 _ **"Yep." Temari grinned popping her p.**_

 _ **"What do you want?" Shikamaru asked boredly but glad to see her anyway.**_

 _ **"We have work to do and you're just laying here sleeping the day away." Temari said with her hands on her hips.**_

 _ **"Yep." Shikamaru said popping his p.**_

 _ **"Shikamaru, I'm not going to do your work for you." Temari said glaring at Shikamaru.**_

 _ **"I'm not asking you to, come sit down with me troublesome woman." Shikamaru said without a care in the world.**_

 _ **"No, we have work to do." Temari said still glaring at him.**_

 _ **"You can take a break every now and then from work." Shikamaru said shrugging with his hands behind his head.**_

 _ **"It's not called a break if you haven't even started with the work." Temari said as Shikamaru opened an eye to look at her.**_

 _ **"Troublesome woman." Shikamaru sighed as he extended his shadow wrapping a tendril around Temari's fan and another one around her waist without even moving a muscle.**_

" _ **Shikamaru, don't you dare!" Temari said with wide eyes.**_

 _ **His tendril unclipped Temari's fan from her back and placed it on the grass next to him so Temari won't kill him with it or break her back as he pulled her down to the ground with his shadow making her land on her ass next to him.**_

 _ **"I'm going to kill you one day, I swear." Temari said glaring at him making him smirk.**_

 _ **Temari smacked his stomach making him groan and open both his eyes in pain while she turned and placed her head on his stomach using it as a pillow.**_

 _ **"You abusive woman." Shikamaru said glaringly.**_

 _ **"Oh, I'm not troublesome anymore." Temari smirked amused.**_

 _ **"You're troublesome and abusive." Shikamaru said rolling his eyes.**_

 _ **It wasn't long before Temari fell asleep on his stomach. Shikamaru stared at her sleeping face, he wasn't about to wake a troublesome woman like her up. Besides he would rather do nothing than do work for the upcoming chunnin exams and Temari looked so calm and peaceful when she was asleep, which was a rare look for Temari no Sabaku.**_

"Come in." Shikamaru said from the coach he was sitting on, the continues knocking interrupting his thoughts.

"Why is it so dark in here?" Sakura asked switching the lights on and placing her now closed and wet umbrella against the wall.

"What do you want Sakura?" Shikamaru asked from the coach.

"Ino's awake." Sakura said.

"Good." Shikamaru said standing up and walking out his apartment and into the rain.

"Shikamaru, I have an umbrella." Sakura called to Shikamaru but he just continued to jump from roof to roof in the rain.

Sakura sighed and took her umbrella dashing from roof to roof after she closed the door behind her. It didn't take Shikamaru long to get to the hospital. He walked to Ino's room dripping on the floor while he walked towards the room. He finally reached her room and opened it while he entered the room with Sakura close behind him.

"Shikamaru! Why are you wet?" Ino asked confused as he walked in.

"It's raining outside." Shikamaru said bluntly as he sat on the chair between Ino and Mirai's bed.

"You have an umbrella, don't you?" Ino asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes I do, Sakura did Ruth and Akira woke up yet?" Shikamaru asked concerned.

"Yeah, but the gennin went back to sleep." Sakura said in front of Ino's bed with Sai on the chair between Ino and the wall.

"Sai, it's getting late let's grab something to eat." Sakura said but before Sai could protest he got interrupted by Ino.

"I'll be okay, just go with billboard brow, you need food." Ino said with a smile while Sakura glared at her and Sai reluctantly stood up.

"Fine, I'll be back soon." Sai said planting a kiss on Ino's forehead before following Sakura out the door.

"What happened to you?" Shikamaru asked to Ino after they left.

"I don't know she kicked me out of her mind so easily after that everything went black and the next thing I remember is waking up here." Ino said with furrowed eyebrows.

"What did you see in her mind?" Shikamaru asked baffled.

"Her cursed mark is sealing all her memories away, making it impossible for her to remember anything before she received it. Everything she knows now is what Orochimaru told or taught her. I wanted to see if there was a way to break the seal that imprisoned her memories, but then she arrived. When she appeared everything went black and all her emotions came with her. Shikamaru, her pain and loneliness is overwhelming. It was horrible seeing what she had to go through with Orochimaru, I don't know how she endures it. I'm sorry Shikamaru, but that's all I can remember." Ino said sadly as Shikamaru looked away.

"Last question, who was the guy with her?" Shikamaru asked as he stood up.

"He's Minoru. Do you remember him Shikamaru? He's one of my clansmen, he got up ducted by one of Orochimaru's goons when Suna attacked the leaf at our first chunnin exams." Ino said.

"Yeah, I remember him. Thanks Ino." Shikamaru said leaving her room as well as the hospital yet again walking in the rain to his apartment.

He walked with grim determination into his apartment and went to bed. He's going to need his energy because tomorrow heads are gonna roll.

 **_**

 **A/N: Hey guys, I'm so sorry I was really lazy these few days and got hooked on probably the dumbest anima ever (one piece) and I also forgot to post this chapter this week, but please leave a comment on what you thought about this chapter and do you think someone's head is actually gonna roll and if so, who? Plus I am yet again going to ask you to be patient because I have my exams coming up and I want to start studying in advance like the smart hardworking teenager I'm not, I'll try and update before the exam but I don't know if I will succeed and if I don't I'll try to update during exam but that will all depend on my schedule because sometimes I write every day and then other times I have no tests the whole week. But NEVER DOUBT ME! You're fantastic author signing out :P**


	7. THE DESERT ANGEL

_**"She made broken look beautiful and strong look invincible. She walked with the universe on her shoulders and made it look like a pair of wings." - A friend.**_  
 _ **_**_

Shikamaru woke up due to the sun shining in his eyes. He groggily opened one eye to look around him and after a moment he collected himself. He sighed and opened the other eye, the morning was one of those perfect mornings with a beautiful blue sky and birds singing their cheerful song, but it was only a facade to Shikamaru because Temari was next to him. It hid the storm of the previous day. 

Shikamaru calmly laid in his bed he knew nobody needed him right now, but he couldn't get Temari out his head so he eventually stood up and brushed his teeth. After he was done he walked out his apartment and locked it. He calmly walked to Naruto's office, feeling more in control than he did yesterday. Shikamaru's eye line stretched to the sky as he watched the fluffy white clouds stroll by with his hands in his pockets. 

"Hey Shikamaru." Chouji said as he fell in step with Shikamaru. 

"Hey Chouji, how are you?" Shikamaru said as he looked at Chouji. 

"I'm good and you?" Chouji said smiling while he munched his chips. 

"Good I guess." Shikamaru said shrugging. 

"Did you see yesterday's storm that was one crazy storm, don't you think?" Chouji asked. 

"Yeah, it was a bad one." Shikamaru replied as he remembered the events of last night. 

"So, you got any plans for today?" Chouji asked curiously. 

"Maybe and if I have what I planned to have today then you will also have plans today Chouji." Shikamaru mused. 

"You lost me." Chouji said confused. 

"You'll see later." Shikamaru said as he smirked a little. 

"Where are you going to?" Chouji asked letting his previous statement go. 

"Naruto's office and you?" Shikamaru asked. 

"Nowhere really I'm just walking around." Chouji shrugged. 

"Well, I'll see you later Chouji I need to talk to Naruto." Shikamaru said as he waved goodbye at Chouji. 

"Yeah, I'll see you later Shikamaru." Chouji said smiling broadly. 

Shikamaru made his way through the Hokage's mansion knocking on Naruto's door before he entered. 

"Enter." Naruto called from inside the room. 

"Shikamaru!" Naruto exclaimed when he saw Shikamaru come in. 

"Hey Naruto." Shikamaru said. 

"Wait, you're not her to harass me like you did Lee because if so I will kick your ass." Naruto said eyeing Shikamaru. 

"Nah, I'm here to apologise." Shikamaru said chuckling slightly. 

"Oh well you should apologise to Lee, but I sense you want something from me." Naruto said suspicion laced in his voice. 

"You sensed right, I want to go to Iwagakure." Shikamaru said with his hands in his pockets. 

"Here we go again, you know for an unmotivated guy you're really determined." Naruto said sighing as he leaned back in his chair. 

"Troublesome, can I go or not?" Shikamaru asked rolling his eyes. 

"Yes, but it might take a while because you're not leaving without backup." Naruto said sternly. 

"Yeah, yeah. I know Temari can handle herself she has survived for 2 years with Orochimaru, another day won't kill her." Shikamaru lied. 

Shikamaru actually felt really anxious to leave already, he wanted to get to her before something bad happens and he doesn't want her to hurt anymore. Ino's comment really struck a chord. 

"Okay, I'll finalise a retrieval mission and send for you when I'm done." Naruto said seeing through Shikamaru's lie. 

"I just have one request." Shikamaru said. 

"What is it?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"Chouji and Ino are on the retrieval team." Shikamaru said. 

"Very well, but I'll only allow Ino to go if she gets clearance from Sakura." Naruto said with a lopsided smirk. 

"Of course." Shikamaru said returning Naruto's smile then left, his smile falling the second he turned his back to Naruto. 

Shikamaru strolled down the streets to his favourite spot under the tree, but before he arrived he saw Lee on the way. 

"Hey Lee." Shikamaru called to Lee who stood in front of the ramen shop. 

"Hello Shikamaru!" Lee exclaimed as he turned around to face Shikamaru. 

"I'm sorry about yesterday, it was uncalled for." Shikamaru said rubbing his head awkwardly. 

"Don't worry about it Shikamaru, all is forgiven!" Lee exclaimed with a thumbs up. 

"Glad to hear." Shikamaru said with a small fake smile. 

"Why don't you join me and Guy-sensei for lunch then we can do some training!" Lee said pumped with a sparkle in his eyes sending goose bumps down Shikamaru's spine and not in a good way. 

Shikamaru thought about a lunch filled with 'youthfulness' then a 'youthful' training straight after with a 'youthful' Lee and Guy. Shikamaru shuddered at the thought. 

"I actually have a troublesome thing right now and it needs my attention immediately..." Shikamaru said eagerly. 

"What a shame!" Lee exclaimed sadly. 

"A shame indeed, I've got to go see you later Lee." Shikamaru said quickly as he left as soon as possible before he got dragged in Lee's 'youthfulness'. 

Shikamaru strolled around the village as he waited for Naruto to finalise things, he had absolutely no idea what to do with himself at this moment. He had no work to do and his gennin was taking the day off. Shikamaru sighed as he sat on a grassy hill near his parents' house. There were almost no clouds in the sky for him to stare at. In this situation where Shikamaru had no work to do he would usually relish his free time, but how could he be relaxed when someone he loved was not where she belonged. Shikamaru didn't stay long on the hill before he reluctantly stood up and walked towards Naruto's office. He couldn't relax if he felt this tens. 

"Hey Naruto, how's it going?" Shikamaru asked as he entered Naruto's office. 

"I'm almost done." Naruto said not looking up from his paperwork. 

"Good, anything I can do?" Shikamaru asked with a sigh. 

"Yeah, you can call Sakura, Neji and Chouji for me." Naruto said. 

"Fine, you better be done when I come back." Shikamaru said boredly. 

"Challenge accepted, shadow clone jutsu!" Naruto exclaimed with a wild grin as Shikamaru shook his head and left. 

It didn't take Shikamaru long to find Chouji and Sakura since he knew exactly where they were, Chouji was at the barbecue place and Sakura was at the hospital, but Neji was harder to find but Shikamaru eventually found him with Tenten at her weapon shop. 

"You took so long I didn't even need a shadow clone." Naruto said bluntly as Shikamaru entered with Chouji, Sakura and Neji. 

"Just get on with it." Shikamaru said rolling his eyes. 

"Okay it's a simple mission, you're going to retrieve Temari and bring her back to Konoha use force if necessary and Shikamaru is in charge, Neji your second in charge. You'll leave tomorrow morning." Naruto said professionally. 

"Understood." Neji said as the rest nodded their heads. 

The group all went their separate ways after meeting with Naruto. Guess Sakura, or most likely Sai, didn't want Ino to go into the field just yet. Shikamaru headed to his favourite spot on the cliff under the tree and lay beneath it. He concentrated his chakra on Temari's necklace out of pure habit feeling it extend North West. Shikamaru spent the rest of the day under that tree until the sun was finally starting to disappear. 

He stood up and left for his apartment with his hands in his pockets and once he reached his apartment he only removed his shirt and shoes then collapsed in his bed and slept his troubles away hopefully meeting Temari's beautiful face in his dreams once more. The next morning Shikamaru woke up to a rising sun after a dreamless sleep. But that didn't matter because Shikamaru would see her soon enough, he thought as he made ready for the day and long road to Iwagakure. Shikamaru redid his hair before he left his apartment for the gate. 

"Shikamaru you're late!" Sakura hollered from the gate as Shikamaru walked to the gate. 

"Sakura he's actually not that late." Chouji said defending Shikamaru. 

"But he's still late!" Sakura exclaimed. 

"Calm down Sakura you're going to wake to whole village up." Shikamaru said rubbing his ear as he reached the gate. 

"Shikamaru's right now let's go." Neji said as they started walking to Iwagakure. 

"This is going to be a long trip." Chouji sighed. 

"You're starting to sound like Shikamaru." Sakura laughed. 

"Troublesome, at least you have your chips Chouji." Shikamaru smiled. 

"Yeah, I would've gone crazy without them." Chouji laughed snuggling his chips. 

"Okay, now let's get a move on." Shikamaru said as they started jumping from tree to tree. 

"Eager, aren't we?" Neji smirked beside Shikamaru. 

"Yes, now move your ass." Shikamaru grunted. 

"And you're starting to sound like Temari, Shikamaru. What's becoming of this world?" Sakura asked rhetorically making the group laugh except Shikamaru who rolled his eyes. 

"Troublesome." Shikamaru sighed. 

They travelled long and far when the sun finally started to set and the group made camp. It was a peaceful night where you could see all the stars with a slight chilly breeze. After they ate all except Shikamaru went to bed because they all agreed that he'll keep the first watch. The night was cold and quiet, there was absolutely nothing going on except the leaves rustling every now and then. Shikamaru sighed as he looked up at the stars. How did everything become such a mess? How did nobody notice that Orochimaru was alive? 

But it didn't matter now because this mess was going to be cleaned up and Orochimaru is going to die one way or another, Shikamaru would make sure of that. Hours passed before Shikamaru's watch was finally done. He stood up from the tree he was leaning against and walked to their tent to wake Sakura up for her watch. 

"Sakura, wake up." Shikamaru said softly as he poked her continuously. 

"No, leave me alone." Sakura grunted grumpily. 

"Troublesome, wake up." Shikamaru sighed irritably as he continued poking her. 

"Just 5 more minutes." Sakura whined swatting his hand away. 

"No, wake up." Shikamaru dead panned. 

"Please don't leave, Sasuke." Sakura said sadly in her sleep. 

Shikamaru's eyebrow twitched as he realised that Sakura was still asleep and that she's been talking in her sleep. She was even arguing with him while she was asleep, woman... Dammit it reminded him of Temari. 

"Wake up Sakura, Orochimaru's taking Sasuke away from you again." Shikamaru sighed irritably. 

"That son of a..." Sakura exclaimed but Shikamaru muffled it using his shadow to cover her mouth so she wouldn't wake everyone up. 

"You're turn." Shikamaru said quietly as he climbed in his sleeping bag as Sakura nodded and left. 

_**"Hey there stranger." A confident voice said behind Shikamaru.**_

 _ **Shikamaru smiled as he heard her voice, he was doing some paperwork in his office that was near Naruto's. His office wasn't as nice as Naruto's, but hey he wasn't the Hokage, now was he? His office was slightly smaller than Naruto's and he had a book case against the wall plus a sofa where he would take a nap every now and then and obviously he had a desk with windows behind him.**_

 _ **"When did you get here?" Shikamaru asked as he turned around in his chair to look at Temari who was sitting on the open window.**_

 _ **"A while back actually. What am I not important enough for an escort anymore?" Temari asked smirking at him.**_

 _ **"I didn't even know you were coming." Shikamaru dead panned.**_

 _ **"I could've gotten lost on my way to Naruto's office, all alone in a big foreign village." Temari said with mock sadness.**_

 _ **"Please, you probably know the way to Naruto's office like the back of your hand." Shikamaru scoffed, but couldn't help smiling.**_

 _ **"Well what if I forgot?" Temari asked with a raised eyebrow.**_

 _ **"Well then you should lay a complaint by Naruto because frankly, this is not my problem." Shikamaru said slowly as he stood up and walked towards Temari.**_

 _ **"My, my, my, is that any way to treat a friend. Especially your favourite one." Temari smirked at Shikamaru who stood in front of her now.**_

 _ **"You mean most troublesome one. Now get off my window." Shikamaru whispered in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her waist.**_

 _ **"Aren't we possessive?" Temari chuckled wrapping her arms around his neck.**_

 _ **"You have no idea." Shikamaru smirked as he wrapped his arms tighter around her waist and kissed her.**_

 _ **"Then make me." Temari challenged him as their lips parted.**_

 _ **"You are the most troublesome woman I have ever met." Shikamaru said as he lifted her of the window while she wrapped her legs around him.**_

 _ **"I missed you." Shikamaru smiled kissing her neck.**_

 _ **"Of course you did." Temari said bringing his lips to hers, kissing him again.**_

 _ **"Why am I on the table?" Temari asked him when he sat her down on his table then sat back in his chair continuing with his paperwork.**_

 _ **"Because I'm almost done with my work and I figured you like sitting on everything except a chair." Shikamaru smirked.**_

 _ **"I come all the way from Suna to visit you and all you do is paperwork?" Temari asked in mock hurt as she pulled the chair away from his paperwork and closer to her with her foot.**_

 _ **"Dammit woman you'll be the death of me." Shikamaru grunted as he dammed his paperwork to hell and pulled her of the table by her waist and onto his lap.**_

 _ **Shikamaru pulled her closer to him as he kissed her neck moving his way up to her ear then her mouth. He had to admit they had a good thing going on, they didn't have a serious relationship going on between them because she lived in another village and she could only visit every few months.**_ _ **They also didn't announce their relationship to the public because they both decided that it was too troublesome, but they didn't keep it a secret either plus Shikamaru was slightly intimidated by her brothers.**_

 _ **"Hey Shikamaru..." Naruto began as he barged in and was totally shocked by the sight in front of him, rendering him speechless as he opened to say something raising a finger then closing it again then opening it, but closing it again.**_

 _ **Shikamaru and Temari broke there kiss as Shikamaru tilted his head to the side slightly to see Naruto then used his shadow possession jutsu to make him turn around and walk out the room.**_

 _ **"Naruto if you tell anyone, there'll be serious consequences." Temari said glaring at Naruto while she turned her head to look at him as Shikamaru made him turn his head, after all Temari had a pretty scary glare and Naruto was slightly scared of her.**_

 _ **"Especially Gaara." Shikamaru felt he needed to ad as he closed the door and locked it while he released Naruto.**_

 _ **"You're still afraid of my brother?" Temari laughed.**_

 _ **"I would say slightly intimidated." Shikamaru replied.**_

 _ **"Whatever makes you happy." Temari laughed then continued there make out session.**_

Shikamaru gasped and shot upright as he felt a cold wet liquid poured over his face. 

"Dammit Sakura, can't you wake me up like a normal person." Shikamaru asked as he glared at her. 

"Sorry buddy I tried to stop her." Chouji said as he munched his chips. 

"I did, but that didn't work." Sakura said glaring back. 

"Troublesome, let's just get on with it." Shikamaru said as they ate and packed up camp and continued their journey. 

Travelling per day and camping per night until finally they reached Iwagakure where they were going to stay. They booked into an inn that they could afford then unpacked. 

"I have to see the Tsuchikage, I'll be back later." Shikamaru said as he left and headed for the Tsuchikage's office. 

When he reached her office he knocked on the door. 

"Come in." She said from inside the office. 

"Good evening Lady Tsuchikage." Shikamaru said bowing his head formally. 

"Oh well hello there Shikamaru, how have you been?" The Tsuchikage smiled. 

"Peachy, how 'bout you Lady Tsuchikage?" Shikamaru asked. 

"I've been good, now what can I help you with?" The Tsuchikage asked professionally. 

"I've came to notify you about a mission we have that concerns your village and if we have permission to execute our mission in your village." Shikamaru said professionally as he handed her a scroll. 

She took the scroll from Shikamaru and read through it. Naruto wrote the scroll and it explained the situation to the Tsuchikage. 

"You have permission to execute your mission, I have no problem with this mission and Shikamaru, good luck." The Tsuchikage said with furrowed eyebrows. 

"You'll need it..." She sighed handing him the scroll back. 

"Is there any information you would like to share, Lady Tsuchikage?" Shikamaru asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"They're merely rumours..." The Tsuchikage replied leaning back in her chair. 

"Let's hear them, rumours are usually sparked from a grain of truth." Shikamaru said. 

"Well I don't know much I just heard that a girl that went missing from our village that has the reaper kiss jutsu has been seen with Temari and another guy with white hair..." The Tsuchikage said but got interrupted by Shikamaru. 

"That would be Minoru." Shikamaru informed. 

"You know him?" The Tsuchikage asked. 

"Not personally, but he went missing from our village and originally belonged to the Yamanaka clan." Shikamaru answered. 

"I'll keep that in mind, but another rumour that I heard is that Temari has been going around assassinating really strong shinobi without her even breaking a sweat plus she's also able to destroy ninja villages on her own, well that's what I heard. Some people also tend to refer to her as the desert angel." The Tsuchikage mused. 

"Why's that?" Shikamaru asked curiously. 

"They say her wings are as beautiful as a desert mirage, but just as deadly. They also refer to her feathers as the feathers of the broken darkness because she acquired her wings at a steep price, happiness. By gaining her wings she lost her happiness and her soul twisted into darkness, that's how the story was formed..." the Tsuchikage said as she crossed her arms. 

"What story?" Shikamaru asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"The story of the last broken darkness. Parents use it to scare their children when they wouldn't go to sleep. The story begins with a good angel known as the desert lily, but she made a deal with the devil so the lily could grow wings. Little did she know about the price she'll have to pay. She was manipulated and driven away from her loved once as the devil himself tricked her so she'll work for him. She became the devils right hand and got her beautifully sharp wings, but she lost her happiness and was never seen smiling again. She's only seen with eyes filled with resentment when her razor sharp winds appear or her razor sharp feathers rain down on you. So when you find a ghostly white feature that's as sharp as a kunai in the broken darkness of the night you'll know that the devils desert angel is coming for you and that this will be the last broken darkness of the night you'll ever see before she is manipulated by the devil to take your happiness away from you, just like he did to her. So when the broken darkness of the night drowns the light of the sun you'd better be tucked away safe and sound in bed so her feathers won't get its razor sharp grip on you." The Tsuchikage sighed. 

"That's some story." Shikamaru said with narrowed eyes. 

"But it's just a story." The Tsuchikage shrugged. 

"The question isn't if it's just a story, it's how much of the story is actually true." Shikamaru mused. 

"Sadly I cannot answer that question for you, I haven't seen her at all." The Tsuchikage sighed. 

"Don't worry about it I'll find her and thank you for the story. It was good seeing you again Lady Tsuchikage and I'll see you around." Shikamaru said as he bowed his head. 

"Don't mention it and same to you Shikamaru. I really hope you find her." The Tsuchikage smiled as he left. 

Shikamaru walked back to the inn they were staying at until he saw something that made his heart stop. He stood in the middle of the road looking into a bar. He turned his body in the direction of the bar, but he couldn't get his feet to move he could only stare at the woman before him. His mind couldn't believe what he was seeing, she was right there in all her glory. It's the first time that he sees her in two years as he took a moment to drown in her presence. 

She sat on a bar stool in front of the door. He stared at her back as he slowly walked to the bar. Her hair was the same golden dirty blonde he remembered just longer, but she swapped her 4 ponytails to only 2. She also wore a similar outfit she had on just before Pain attacked, but it was a darker shade. Shikamaru pulled himself together as he walked over to her. 

"Can I buy you a drink?" Shikamaru asked as he sat next to her at the bar. 

"I'd rather have the money." Temari replied back. 

"I see you are as charming as ever." Shikamaru smirked. 

"You know me?" Temari asked as she shot her head at him piercing her teal eyes through Shikamaru. 

"Have you really forgotten, Temari?" Shikamaru asked trying to hide the disappointment in his voice. 

"How do you know my name?" Temari asked narrowing her eyes at him. 

"The chunnin examiner announced it." Shikamaru smiled. 

"How do you know me?" Temari asked as she ignored the sake the bar man handed her. 

"We worked together, we're a team." Shikamaru said. 

"I'm my own damn team." Temari grunted as she stood up. 

"I change my mind, you can pay for that." Temari smirked as she walked away. 

"Damn troublesome woman." Shikamaru grunted as he paid the barman and jogged after her. 

"Oi troublesome woman, slow down." Shikamaru sighed irritably as he caught up to her, Temari stopped dead in her tracks when she heard him say troublesome. 

It was the exact name the guy in her dreams kept calling her, but she could never seem to remember his face or anything about him except that he calls her troublesome woman, could this guy really be him and if so he needed to stay far away from her if her dream was actually going to become a reality. 

"Don't call me that." Temari said as she started walking again, this time faster. 

"Have you really forgotten me?" Shikamaru asked sadly as he grabbed her wrist to make her stop as she paused for a while before she answered. 

"Yes." Temari said with a hard face as she stopped, trying to get rid of him. 

"Ironic, isn't it? You're the one who told me to forget about you, but instead you forgot me." Shikamaru chuckled bitterly. 

"Maybe you should take my advice then." Temari said sadly as she looked down. 

She wanted him to leave so he won't get hurt, but she felt safe with him for some reason. But in the end that wasn't necessarily a good thing. She knew if Orochimaru found him he'll kill him and she already killed enough people as it was plus the dream she keeps having. 

"As I said before, I'll never forget about you." Shikamaru said as he walked closer to Temari. 

"What do you want from me?" Temari asked feeling the gap between them closing, but Shikamaru wasn't about to let her go, not ever again. 

"Temari, I want you to come home." Shikamaru said slowly releasing her wrist and wrapping his arms around her waist gently. 

"Please come back." Shikamaru whispered with his head on her shoulder. 

"You had two years two find me, two years to save me from that hell hole. You can't appear out of nowhere and hug me like I'm supposed to magically agree to go with you. I don't even now your name and you have no idea who I am." Temari scoffed and for some reason she didn't want him to ever let her go, that was about the only reason she didn't break his arms right now. 

"I know exactly who you are." Shikamaru said amused. 

"Of course you do." Temari said crossing her arms as she rolled her eyes. 

"You are Temari no Sabaku, you were born in Suna and is the daughter of the fourth Kazekage as well as the sister of the fifth Kazekage. Both you're parents are dead and you have two younger brothers, in fact Orochimaru killed you're father and your mother died giving birth to your youngest brother and the fifth Kazekage. He was also made the Jinchuriki until the Akatsuke extracted the beast, but one of your village elders and the Leafs seventh Hokage revived him. You won the round against Tenten and me in the chunnin exam after I forfeited in our match. You are the ambassador of Suna. You went with me on a joint mission when we bumped into Orochimaru, he gave you a curse mark right her..." Shikamaru smiled, but his smile fell when he told her about their mission as he kissed the exact spot of her cursed mark that was hidden under her clothes and the whole time he talked her eyes widened from all the information he gave her about her past as she froze in amazement. 

"You also got stabbed by Orochimaru right here while you tried to protect me and you also have amnesia." Shikamaru said as he leaned his head back on her shoulder and poked the place where she got stabbed. 

"And that necklace you wear, I was the one who gave it to you the night you lost your memories and Orochimaru took you. You are the most troublesome woman I have ever known, but that is why I love you." Shikamaru sighed as he hugged her slightly tighter. 

"Who are you?" Temari whispered. 

"You know who I am." Shikamaru said. 

"You're a stranger." Temari said still in shock. 

"If I was a stranger you would've broken both my arms by now." Shikamaru chuckled making her eyes widen, that was exactly what she was thinking a moment ago. 

_How could he possibly know me so well?_ Temari thought in shock. 

"What's your name?" Temari asked. 

"If I tell you then your little Yamanaka friend will tell Orochimaru, you are proficient at blocking there jutsu but there are always some details that slip through. Like this moment right here that Yamanaka is going to read your mind as soon as you walk into that hell hole and then Orochimaru is going to take action, but it will be harder for him to do anything if he doesn't know my name. But it also won't take him very long to recognise me, plus Kabuto knows me as well." Shikamaru sighed. 

"You're a smart ass, aren't you? But like I said you had two years to find me so I'm leaving now." Temari said regaining herself. 

"And in those two years all I did was search for you and now I have finally found you, I'll drag you back kicking and screaming if I have to." Shikamaru said bluntly. 

"I'll like to see you try." Temari said as she bit her thump and smeared her blood on her left wrist. 

Temari grabbed her fan that appeared in a cloud of smoke and swung it at Shikamaru's head, but Shikamaru ducked. 

"Nice little trick, but I saw you use it once before. I know all your jutsu's." Shikamaru smirked. 

"Not all of them." Temari grinned as she struck Shikamaru's head with a roundhouse kick sending him flying. 

Shikamaru smirked on the ground as she got caught in his shadow. 

"So you're a Nara." Temari scowled as she was caught in his shadow. 

"What gave me away?" Shikamaru asked sarcastically as he stood up making her drop her fan. 

"If I where you I would be a little more concerned about not losing my life." Temari said glaring at him. 

"You're not going to kill me, hurt me maybe, but not kill me." Shikamaru shrugged. 

"I wouldn't be so confident. You know it's a shame this jutsu isn't as effective in the night when it's cloudy, it's really a useful jutsu." Temari smirked. 

"Even when it's cloudy, there'll always be a shadow." Shikamaru said bluntly. 

"But not as strong as a shadow in the light." Temari said as she activated her curse mark. 

Shikamaru's eyes widened as he saw her tattoos beginning to form over every inch of her skin. The tattoos actually suited her real nicely because they looked like a black wind blowing over her skin. Shikamaru made the hand seals to his jutsu when he felt it beginning to get harder to hold her. Then he saw Iwagakure's story come to life. Temari's hair started growing at a rapid pace until it reached her mid back while her tattoos dissipated into her skin making it turn a lighter shade and wings started growing on her back, making her look like a real angel. A angel without any joy, yet she still looked devastatingly beautiful. He saw the smirk on her face as she took control of her body again, after all she was right about his jutsu being weaker in the night. 

"Goodbye smart ass." Temari said confidently as she broke his jutsu and started flapping her wings making her lift off of the ground. 

Shikamaru scowled as she pulled her wings far back, arching her back slightly, then shot them forward making an enormous sharp wind fly his way. 

"You'll see me again." Shikamaru said just before the razor sharp wind struck him making him fly into a nearby tree. 

Shikamaru groaned from the impact, but smirked. He was right. She did hold back, if she didn't he would've been cut in half along with the trees behind him. But his smirk did fall when he saw her fly away with her fan making him rest his head back against the tree and sigh. Shikamaru groaned has he finally stood up, he had bruises and scratches all over him with blood coming out his mouth. Shikamaru wiped the blood from his mouth off and walked back to the inn and after a while he finally walked through the room everyone was gathered in, immediately catching their attention. 

"What happened to you?" Sakura asked with a raised eyebrow as he came in. 

"I ran into Temari." Shikamaru said as he sat with them in n circle on the floor as everyone looked at him shocked. 

"I assume it didn't go so well." Neji said with a raised eyebrow. 

"Actually, it didn't go so badly." Shikamaru smirked. 

"Devine not so bad." Sakura said with a raised eyebrow. 

"She remembers me deep down." Shikamaru shrugged. 

"What makes you say that?" Chouji asked munching on his chips. 

"For one she didn't kill me when she had the chance and I gave her a lot of chances plus when she walked away she stopped for a while before she continued walking when I called her troublesome woman." Shikamaru mused. 

"Well where is she now?" Sakura exclaimed. 

"Gone, she got away." Shikamaru sighed rubbing his templates. 

"How?" Neji asked. 

"My jutsu isn't as strong in the night when it's cloudy so she broke out." Shikamaru said. 

"But that's nearly impossible." Chouji said with a frown. 

"But it's possible and she has the curse mark." Shikamaru said bluntly. 

"And I'm guessing there's more to it." Neji said with crossed arms. 

"Yes. Temari's curse mark gives her wings and if half of the story the Tsuchikage told me is true then it's likely that her wings are extremely sharp. We already now she has a team and that Minoru is on it, the Tsuchikage also says people has reported that a girl from their village that has gone missing is sometimes seen with Temari and this particular girl has that weird reaper kiss jutsu. The only problem now is who's left and how much?" Shikamaru said. 

"What story?" Sakura asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"Just some story they made up to scare their kids." Shikamaru sighed. 

"I want to hear the story." Chouji said captivated. 

"It's a long story maybe later." Shikamaru said irritably. 

"Shikamaru that's your way of saying never, I want to hear the story." Chouji whined. 

"Why?" Shikamaru asked grumpily. 

"Because I like stories." Chouji said bluntly. 

"Chouji this is a story to scare kids it's not a happy one." Shikamaru sighed, knowing his friend liked stories with happy endings. 

"But that's his problem I want to hear it too." Sakura chimed in. 

"Fine. It's the story of the last broken darkness. The story begins with a good angel known as the desert lily, but she made a deal with the devil so the lily could grow wings. Little did she know about the price she'll have to pay. She was manipulated and driven away from her loved ones as the devil himself tricked her so she'll work for him. She became the devils right hand and got her beautifully sharp wings, but she lost her happiness and was never seen smiling again. She's only seen with eyes filled with resentment when her razor sharp winds appear or her razor sharp feathers rain down on you. So when you find a ghostly white feature that's as sharp as a kunai in the broken darkness of the night you'll know that the devils desert angel is coming for you and that this will be the last broken darkness of the night you'll ever see before she is manipulated by the devil to take your happiness away from you, just like he did to her. So when the broken darkness of the night drowns the light of the sun you'd better be tucked away safe and sound in bed so her feathers won't get its razor sharp grip on you. Now all you children can go to sleep before she comes for you." Shikamaru sighed irritably as he recited the story. 

"That's really a bone chilling story, wonder why they made that story?" Sakura mused. 

"Because Orochimaru sends her on killing sprees." Shikamaru dead panned as he stood up and collapsed on his bed. 

"Shikamaru maybe I should check your wounds before you go to sleep." Sakura said. 

"No I'm fine, just go to sleep." Shikamaru said as he yawned and everyone went to bed. 

_She hasn't changed a bit,_ Shikamaru smiled as he drifted off to sleep. 

... 

Temari landed before the entrance of the hideout and retracted her wings. She sighed as she walked into the hideout while she placed her fan on her back. 

"Where have you been Temari? You're never gone this long." Minoru asked appearing out of nowhere. 

"I was in Iwagakure and I lost track of time, now back off." Temari said glaring at Minoru. 

"Who's the guy you met at the bar?" Minoru asked narrowing his eyes. 

Before Minoru could react, Temari used her fan as a club and smacked Minoru over his head sending him flying. _That smart ass was dead on right, but how?_

"That's none of your damn business." Temari snarled at him threateningly as he looked up at her from the floor. 

"Now stop reading me Yamanaka, besides he's no one." Temari said as she left for her room. 

Temari laid on her bed with her fan next to her. That guy baffled her he was so confident that she wasn't going to kill him, how could he be so sure? It saddened Temari to see all those memories he had of her in his eyes, but she couldn't remember anything. Temari stared at the roof trying to figure out who exactly he was to her, until it hit her. His name is Shikamaru. She remembered when the Yamanaka she took the scroll from, Ino she thinks her name was, told her that Shikamaru loved her and that guy told her he loves her so that must make him Shikamaru. Temari smirked as she pieced everything together. 

"What happened to your face, Minoru?" Orochimaru asked amused. 

"Temari smacked me with her fan." Minoru said bluntly. 

"What did you do to the poor girl?" Orochimaru smiled eerily. 

"I asked her who the guy she met at the bar was then she smacked me with her fan and told me to mind my own business." Minoru said calmly. 

"Intriguing, tell me more." Orochimaru chuckled amused. 

"All I know is that he has black hair and brown hair plus he's a shinobi, she's blocking me out her mind." Minoru sighed. 

"It's because you're reading her the whole time, you practically made her resistant to the Yamanaka's jutsu." Orochimaru said shaking his head. 

"Who's the Shinobi?" Kabuto asked with a frown. 

"I don't know." Minoru sighed. 

"Well let's think logically about this. Who is a Shinobi, has black hair and brown hair and would come all this way just to find our little Temari?" Orochimaru smiled sinisterly. 

"Shikamaru Nara." Kabuto smirked. 

"My thoughts exactly, Minoru how many holograms can you project?" Orochimaru laughed eerily. 

**_-  
_**  
 **A/N: Hey everyone I'm sooooo sorry for making you wait so long I literally had nothing to write I just kept staring at the screen, but I totally blame math and science because once I was done with those two subjects everything just came to me and I could write again. I also wanted to update yesterday, but my mom turned the Wi-Fi off so I couldn't post this chapter. I really hope you like this chapter and that it would make up for your long wait. Please remember to leave a comment on what you thought about it. _May God be with Paris and the heavy loss they had to endure, #PrayforParis_ _._ Your fantastic author signing out **


	8. THE PERFECT STORM

_**"Said her father left her young and He said he'll be back with that same tone that you just said you'll stay forever with." Autumn leaves Chris brown**_  
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**_  
The next day Shikamaru and his team woke up and discussed what they were going to do to find Temari. They had no idea where Orochimaru's hideout was located and they also had no idea what he was planning. 

"So what do you want to do, Shikamaru?" Sakura asked. 

"It's quite simple actually we walk around town until Temari decides to come out and then we go pay her a visit." Shikamaru shrugged nonchalantly. 

"So we're just going to walk aimlessly around town the whole day." Neji scoffed. 

"Not exactly." Shikamaru said. 

"What if she stays in the hideout the whole day?"Chouji asked munching on some chips nobody knew where he got, since the stash he had was finished. 

"She won't." Shikamaru shrugged as he walked out the room. 

"And how do you know that?" Sakura asked catching up to him. 

"Because I know her, she was never one for dark, gloomy places." Shikamaru said walking with his hands in his pockets. 

Shikamaru and his team walked around town exploring the streets and hangouts and later they settled in the bar Temari was in last night. 

"Shikamaru, why are we in a bar?" Sakura asked confused. 

"Because we're waiting." Shikamaru sighed as he sat down. 

"In a bar?" Sakura asked. 

"Yes Sakura we're waiting in a bar, how very observant of you." Shikamaru said exaggerated as Sakura glared at him. 

They actually didn't wait that long before Shikamaru felt a tug on his shadow, indicating Temari came out of hiding. 

"I found her." Shikamaru said bluntly as he stood up while the rest followed him silently. 

They walked towards the forest where he fought Temari last night, but he didn't stop there he kept going until they finally came across Temari's group who walked towards them unknowingly. 

"It's you again, how did you find me?" Temari glared at Shikamaru as he blocked her path. 

"I have my ways." Shikamaru smirked. 

"Sakura go for the white haired Yamanaka. Neji go for the girl she won't be able to use her reaper kiss on you since you use a kin justsu and Chouji go for the big guy, but be careful we don't know anything about him." Shikamaru whispered before Temari replied. 

"Of course you do, what do you want?" Temari asked crossing her arms. 

"I told you last night, didn't I?" Shikamaru replied making her group look at her, but she didn't look affected at all. 

"You were in Iwagakure last night." The Iwagakure girl gaped at Temari. 

"Yes Hikari, I was." Temari sighed irritably. 

"Why didn't you tell me?" Hikari exclaimed. 

"You don't like Iwagakure." Temari said through gritted teeth. 

"I do if there are people as hot as him in there." Hikari squealed. 

"Hikari, shut up and focus." Temari said threateningly as she glared at her. 

"Don't be selfish you only met him last night." Hikari scoffed. 

"This is troublesome, can't we just get on with this." Shikamaru sighed. 

"Stay out of this Shikamaru!" Temari exclaimed as she turned her glare on him. 

"What do you know? She remembers." Shikamaru smirked. 

"Wait you know this guy?" Hikari asked surprised. 

"If you don't move out of my way right now Shikamaru, I'll make you and not in a pleasant way." Temari threatened. 

"Troublesome woman."Shikamaru sighed making Temari scowl. 

"Have it your way then." Temari scoffed. 

"Wind release: wind cutter technique!" Temari exclaimed as she swept her fan off her back and swung it in their direction. 

Shikamaru's team scattered as they took cover behind something so they wouldn't feel the full impact of her justsu. 

"Wait, don't cut his head off Temari!" Hikari whined. 

"Shut up Hikari!" Temari exclaimed irritably, she was really starting to get annoyed. 

Once the wind passed Sakura jumped out from her hiding spot and punched the ground below causing a mini earthquake making Temari's group lose their balance. Chouji jumped out from behind the tree and punched the big guy with a overgrown fist while Neji dashed towards Hikari and shot a concentrated chakra blast at her. Shikamaru stepped out from behind the tree and made a few hand signs as tendrils shot out from his shadow towards Temari's group while evading his own teammates. Temari scowled as she back flipped out the tendrils reach while Minoru nimbly dodged each tendril until he also back flipped away from the tendrils. 

Hikari simply disappeared into the ground evading all the tendrils while the big guy easily got hit since Chouji was holding him. His tendrils dug themselves into the big guys arms and legs. Shikamaru jumped down from the branch with his chakra blades in hand and dashed to Temari as soon as his feet hit the ground. Shikamaru saw that Minoru sat down in the corner of his eyes as a copy of Minoru formed, a clone maybe? Shikamaru dashed towards Temari, but half way there his body froze and he was no longer in control of it. 

"Sakura." Shikamaru choked out just before he got sucked into his mind. 

Sakura's head snapped towards Shikamaru and scowled, Minoru took control of him. Sakura dashed towards Minoru and to her surprise his clone didn't try to attack her, but Shikamaru did indeed start attacking her. He didn't give her any chance to attack he just threw punch after punch, not leaving an opening for her to attack. Sakura gritted her teeth as she broke away from Shikamaru and dashed for Minoru again. She was about to bring her fist down on his head, but Temari blew her away with her razor sharp wind. Sakura lifted her head up as she landed on the ground and saw that Chouji had the big guy in his grip, but he was struggling. She climbed to her feet and dashed over to Chouji bringing her fist down on the big guys head, knocking him unconscious with serious head injuries. 

Shikamaru dashed towards Sakura again, but he left his chakra blades behind. Chouji wrappeda giant hand around Shikamaru who ran towards him to immobilise him. Sakura's head snapped towards Minoru's clone as she saw him dash towards Shikamaru. She dashed towards the clone and met him halfway, but to her surprise he ran right through her. Sakura blinked slightly as she looked back at the clone that ran through her. She quickly collected herself then dashed at Minoru again since Neji killed Hikari he was busy fighting Temari. Sakura grabbed Shikamaru's chakra blade mid run and threw it right at Minoru's head. Minoru's clone blinked out of existence as the real Minoru's eyes shot open and leaned to the left making the chakra blade peg in the ground behind him. 

"You missed." Minoru said calmly as he sat upright again. 

"Did she?" Shikamaru asked smugly as Minoru's eyes widened and was unable to move. 

Chouji released Shikamaru from his grip as Shikamaru stuffed his hands in his pockets and turned towards Minoru who was frozen because of the chakra blade in his shadow. 

"Temari!" Minoru exclaimed through gritted teeth. 

Everyone turned their head at Temari except Minoru, who couldn't. Temari looked rather bitter as she stood before a mini tornado with Neji trapped inside it. Chouji, Sakura and Shikamaru scowled as they all jumped into action to help Neji. Sakura dashed to Temari with clenched fists while Chouji ran towards Temari with a giant hand and Shikamaru dashed towards her while he made a few hand seals then extended his shadow towards Temari, but Neji was already falling half unconscious. Shikamaru eyes widened slightly. Neji fell on Temari's fan just like Tenten did in the chunnin exams as he coughed blood out gasping for air. They were not going to make it. Temari threw Neji of her fan making him skid on the ground and roll to a stop with his face downwards. It's over. Temari took out a kunai from her ninja pouch and towered over Neji. 

"Temari stop!" Shikamaru hollered desperately as he increased his speed when he saw Temari raise her kunai. 

Temari stopped for a split second as she heard Shikamaru's voice she wanted to look at him, but she stopped herself as she tightened her grip on the kunai and brought it down over Neji's heart. Shikamaru gritted his teeth as he slide towards Neji kicking him out the kunai's way, but Shikamaru did get stabbed in the process. Temari's eyes widened as she stabbed Shikamaru in the left side of his stomach. It's true Temari didn't remember him, but it ripped her heart out when she stabbed him. Her mind may have forgotten, but her heart never forgot these people. Even when she was about to stab the Hyuga it pained her to do so. Why did it hurt every time she saw the Nara in pain? 

"Have you really forgotten me?" Shikamaru asked softly. 

"Completely." Temari replied, but she did hesitate before she answered. 

"I don't believe you." Shikamaru said with a hard expression. 

"Shikamaru!" Chouji exclaimed as he wrapped his hand around Temari who hung her head slightly while Sakura tented to Shikamaru and Neji's wounds as Shikamaru's shadow connected to Temari's. 

"Neji's chakra is almost depleted, he's at his limit." Sakura said as she quickly diagnosed Neji then moved on to Shikamaru. 

"She missed all your vital organs, but if you continue with this fight there may be a chance of internal bleeding." Sakura said as she closed his wound and stopped his bleeding. 

Temari lifted her head looking Chouji right in his eyes as tattoos started to form all over her skin. Chouji shivered slightly at her cold glare as the tattoos started melting on her skin and her hair started to grow. Pain started to rip at Chouji's palm, that must be her razor sharp wings Shikamaru was talking about. Chouji tried his best to hold on to her since he knew Shikamaru wasn't going to let go and he didn't want to much pressure on him. 

"I can't hold anymore, I'm sorry." Chouji panted when her wings started to lodge themselves in his hand and rip them from inside. 

Chouji released Temari when the pain started to overwhelmed him. Blood dripped from his hand as it turned back to its original state. Chouji watched her wings spread in awe, it was beautiful yet threatening. 

"It's okay Chouji, I got her." Shikamaru said next to Sakura. 

"Shikamaru I told you if you keep on fighting..." Sakura started, but got knocked unconscious. 

Temari may be paralyzed, but she could still use her wings and she used them to hit Sakura sending her flying with several cut marks over her body and face as she hit her head against the ground. 

"...you'll get internal bleeding and I'm guessing it'll be serious." Temari continued seriously with her head forward. 

"I'm still dragging you back to Konoha, even if I get serious internal bleeding." Shikamaru replied boredly. 

"Then you'll die." Temari said bluntly. 

"Isn't that what you want anyway?" Shikamaru asked with a raised eyebrow, but she didn't reply. 

"Shikamaru please do what Sakura said." Chouji said with concern. 

"Sorry Chouji, not this time." Shikamaru said calmly as he stood up with his hands in his pockets. 

"You should listen to your friends, besides I can feel your jutsu weakening." Temari said calmly. 

Shikamaru scowled, she was right. He knew she was going to break out of his jutsu sooner or later because his power was decreasing while hers was increasing and there was nothing he could do about it. 

"Shikamaru it's futile, let her go." Chouji scowled. 

"I can't, if I do that she'll kill you and Sakura and Neji." Shikamaru said darkly and slightly strained. 

"You should listen to your friend, he knows what he's talking about." Temari said nonchalantly at Chouji. 

"Knock her out." Shikamaru said solemnly at Chouji. 

"Are you sure?" Chouji asked unsure. 

"Now Chouji." Shikamaru replied. 

Chouji didn't want to hurt a friend, but if he didn't they were all going to die so he regretingly did as Shikamaru said. Chouji lifted a giant fist and swung it towards a calm Temari who smirked at the last second before his fist hit her. 

"You missed." Temari said eerily as she ducked to dodge Chouji's fist grabbing her fan in the process. 

Chouji's eyes widened as he missed causing him to look to the side and meet Shikamaru's wide eyes. Temari's fan struck Chouji's head before he could dodge rendering him unconscious. She took her kunai again and brought it down above Chouji's head, but Shikamaru blocked it's path with his hand causing the kunai to go straight through his hand and making him hold Temari's fist. 

"Enough Temari." Shikamaru said firmly not flinching from the pain. 

"Why are you still staying with Orochimaru, is it loyalty?" Shikamaru asked sadly. 

"No, I'll kill him someday." Temari whispered so Minoru couldn't hear. 

"Why do you keep hurting yourself for others?" Temari scoffed as she watched the blood drip from his hand. 

"Becuase they're my comrades, my friends." Shikamaru replied nonchalantly. 

Temari ripped the kunai from his hand and in one swift movement she stabbed Neji in his back pegging it in his heart. 

"You killed one of my teammates its only fair that I kill one of yours." Temari said unemotional as Neji's eyes widen in pain and he coughed out blood. 

"Don't talk to me about fair." Shikamaru grunted as he dashed to Neji and tried to save him, but no matter what he did Neji was still going to die. 

"How could you stab a comrade, how can you obey Orochimaru?" Shikamaru said with his back to her, but she could her anger rising in his voice. 

"He might have been my comrade, but I've changed and so has everyone else. Even if I come back to Konoha I won't remember anything and I wouldn't fit in because of that. Everyone went on with their life's without me" Temari said bitterly as she walked to Minoru, but to Shikamaru's surprise she knocked him unconscious. 

"But even so things are going to change and the world will be rid of a monster or two and things will get better for everyone, except for me maybe." Temari mused as she walked to Sakura not giving Shikamaru time to think about what she meant. 

"Sakura told you not to move!" Temari said glaringly as she knocked Shikamaru unconscious as well when he dashed to protect Sakura, but she didn't aim to kill Sakura. 

"I'll come back someday, but not in the way you'd like." Temari said sadly as she walked away leaving everyone behind, her teammates and her so called friends and comrades. 

Naruto stood with crossed arms across Shikamaru looking down at him with soft understanding eyes. He was after all in Shikamaru's shoes a few years ago except instead of the women he loved it was a friend and instead of a friend of was a women he fought he loved, but unlike Shikamaru he saved Sakura from Sasuke in that fight. 

"Your finally awake." Naruto smiled at Shikamaru who laid in a hospital bed. 

"Yeah, how long was I out?" Shikamaru asked rubbing his head as he pushed himself up a bit. 

"A week and a half." Naruto shrugged. 

"Are you serious, how could I be in a coma for a week and a half?" Shikamaru asked surprised. 

"Well you see your heart stopped for a while and Sakura struggled to get it going again." Naruto said seriously. 

"How could my heart have stopped? My injuries weren't that serious." Shikamaru asked confused. 

"What is the last thing you remember?" Naruto asked making Shikamaru think back to the last thing he remembers. 

"Blocking Temari from killing Sakura." Shikamaru mused. 

"That was a week and a half back in Iwagakure. You're In Konoha now." Naruto sighed. 

"Temari knocked you unconscious and you never woke up after that so Sakura and Chouji had to bring your unconscious body plus Neji's dead body back. She tried to keep you in a stable condition, but she didn't have the right equipment a hospital had to do so and the internal bleeding got worse. By the time you got back to the village you were in a critical condition and had to be operated on and when they operated the worst happen. The internal bleeding spread to your heart and that made your heart give in from too much pressure. Sakura didn't think she was ever going to get your heart started again." Naruto said then chuckled slightly at the end, but Shikamaru didn't laugh. 

"Let me guess you want to know what happened to Neji." Shikamaru sighed. 

"That would be great." Naruto said sadly. 

"We encountered Temari and her team. Neji killed the girl from Iwagakure with the reaper kiss, her name is Hikari. We immobilised the rest of her team, but she managed to knock us all out and kill Neji." Shikamaru said boredly. 

"So her loyalties lay with Orochimaru." Naruto sighed. 

"The exact opposite actually." Shikamaru said bluntly. 

"So she's on our side?" Naruto asked surprised. 

"Not exactly. She doesn't trust Orochimaru at all, but she feels like she has nowhere else to go. But she feels like she can trust us, but Orochimaru fed her so many lies she doesn't want to trust anyone anymore." Shikamaru replied. 

"Do you think we could get her to flip to our side?" Naruto asked. 

"I think she's already doing it on her own." Shikamaru mused. 

"What makes you say that?" Naruto asked curiously. 

"Something she said to me." Shikamaru said. 

"Has anyone told Tenten about Neji's death?" Shikamaru asked. 

"Yeah Sakura told her after your operation." Naruto said sadly. 

"How did she take it?" Shikamaru asked with a sigh. 

"She was calm when Sakura was there, but when she left Tenten almost destroyed half the forest and Lee with it who thought he was helping her 'train'" Naruto said bluntly. 

"And Hinata? I knew they were starting to get close." Shikamaru said. 

"She's really sad, but she's trying to stay strong." Naruto said sadly and Shikamaru kept quiet. 

"The funeral is in two days if you like to attend this time." Naruto said. 

"I'll be there." Shikamaru sighed sadly then went back to a sleeping position as Naruto left.

*************************************************

It was a gloomy day for everyone especially for the Hyuga's who lost a prodigy. A genius. A cousin. And for the Konoha 12, a friend and a comrade. The sky was a dark grey colour and was covered in clouds, it was fit for a funeral. It was a solemn funeral with tears dripping down some people's faces. 

Was peace ever going to stay? 

Or will it just be snatched away, again and again and again. 

Is this endless cycle of hatred and death ever going to end? 

Shikamaru watched as Hinata placed a white flower on Neji's coffin next to the photo of Neji's serious face. He smirked slightly at the photo remembering how irritated he was when Naruto took a photo of him to show him how grumpy he always looks. He may have looked grumpy and he may have been a troublesome guy, but it was funny when he mocked someone other than Shikamaru. Shikamaru was sure that grumpy bastard will be missed, but he won't admit that he'll miss his troublesome presence.

The funeral ended soon as everyone slowly walked away one for one except for Tenten, Lee, Hinata and Naruto, who comforted Hinata. Shikamaru finally peeled his eyes away from their little group that formed at Neji's coffin and walked towards his apartment. He walked past the ramen and barbecue place and stared at their empty seats, no one was really in the mood for socialising.

 _ **...**_

It was 2 weeks since Temari's encounter with Shikamaru and his group. Orochimaru was like a grumpy old man who wanted to kill everyone after she told him about Hikari's death and Kuro's brain damage. He went as far as wanting to kill Kuro becuase he labelled him useless because of his brain damage, but luckily for Kuro, Kabuto was there to calm Orochimaru down and reassure him that his brain damage can easily be reversed due to all their drugs and forbidden jutsu's. Temari sat outside the hideout resting her back against the rocks while she tilted her head up to look at the depressed sky, a habit she picked up.

She didn't have that usual nightmare she usually had and she was happy about that, but did that mean something happened to Shikamaru? Did she kill him? She sighed and stared at the sad clouds. The sky was dark grey and it looked like it was going to start crying at any minute, but surprisingly it didn't. It's like the sky was trying to stay strong and not cry, but it let an occasional sob out but still there were no tears.

It was a perfect day for a funeral.

Temari sat outside taking a break from studying everyone in that hell holes weaknesses and strong points, she even learned the hell holes weaknesses. The world saw her as a monster and she was going to rid the world of a few monsters that lived in this hell hole. She was also going to go back to Konoha someday, but Shikamaru wasn't going to like it.

He wasn't going to like it at all, but she was tired of all the deaths and all the lies. She was going to end them.

 _ **_  
**_  
 **A/N: HEY guys I'm so sorry it took me so long to update I had a lot of trouble with this chapter. Firstly it didn't want to save at all so I had to rewrite every paragraph like five times and secondly my laptop didn't want to go on the internet so I couldn't post it. I dropped heavy hints in this chapter and I'm not telling about what and who :D let me know if you found them and please leave a comment on what you think, but NEVER DOUBT ME! Your fantastic author signing out :P**


	9. WAR

_**"Cause she's stronger than you know. A heart of steel starts to grow. When you've been fighting for it all your life. You've been struggling to make things right. That's how a superhero learns to fly." Superhero The Script.**_

* * *

Shikamaru knew that the thought running through Temari's mind was that he abandoned her again, but that wasn't the case. Sakura was being troublesome and refusing to give him clearance for the field because of something about them not finding the origin of his continues internal bleeding. They kept sending teams for her, but they either came back with no results or dead so the teams they were sending were getting less.

He has been off any missions for at least 2 months now he couldn't even go on missions with his gennin team. Shikamaru didn't really know what to do with himself so he either watched clouds, nap, teach his gennin team or do paperwork, but most of the time when he was doing paperwork he was staring out the window.

"Shikamaru, Naruto wants you in his office." Sakura said as she barged through his office door.

"Troublesome, you know they invented something like knocking." Shikamaru sighed as he was staring out the window, but turned to look at Sakura.

"Now Shikamaru." Sakura dead panned.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Shikamaru groaned as he stood up and followed Sakura to Naruto's office.

"You requested my presence?" Shikamaru said in a mocked tone knowing for a fact it wasn't for a mission.

"We just received a message from Gaara." Naruto informed in a tone that gave Shikamaru chills because usually that tone gave bad news or more trouble for Shikamaru.

"He's declaring war on the Tsuchikage." Naruto said with a hard face.

"Why?" Shikamaru asked totally taken back with the news.

He knew Gaara to be a somewhat rational man so why would he declare war on a village that has a lot of military power.

"Orochimaru overthrew the Tsuchikage and has full power over Iwagakure." Naruto sighed.

"When did this happen?" Shikamaru asked annoyed since no one bothered to tell him.

"Three weeks ago." Naruto said cringing slightly.

"Why didn't anyone tell me? So I'm guessing Orochimaru's the new Tsuchikage." Shikamaru asked narrowing his eyes.

"Not exactly." Naruto said withholding information.

"I hate it when you say that." Shikamaru sighed.

"Temari is the new Tsuchikage." Naruto sighed

"You're joking?" Shikamaru asked taken aback.

"No, we're having a meeting with Orochimaru on the border of the land of wind and the land of fire tonight." Naruto said resting his head on his hand.

"You'll never make it in time." Shikamaru said crossing his arms.

"We will with Sai's birds and you're tagging along, but no fighting. Do you understand?" Naruto asked sternly.

"Completely." Shikamaru smirked.

"He's serious Shikamaru! I don't want you to use your chakra at all until we can locate the source of your internal bleeding." Sakura said glaring at him.

"Besides we can't start a fight without starting a war." Naruto said.

"War is inevitable for us if Gaara starts a war." Shikamaru scoffed.

"We can avoid it if we go with Gaara." Naruto said crossing his arms as he leaned back in his chair.

"Who will be at the meeting?" Shikamaru asked.

"Gaara, Kankurou and a few of their shinobi then me, Sakura, Hinata, Sai and you." Naruto said.

"What are we waiting for then? Let's go." Shikamaru said.

"All right we're just waiting for Hinata and Sai then we're leaving." Naruto grinned.

"While we're waiting I'm going to pay Ino a visit." Shikamaru said as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Make it quick then." Naruto said as Shikamaru left.

"Hey Ino." Shikamaru said as he walked into the flower shop.

"Hey Shikamaru, how have you been? I haven't seen you in a while." Ino asked smiling ad she leaned on the counter.

"Never better and that's because Sakura's holding me prisoner in that damn hospital." Shikamaru sighed.

"Oh yeah, how's your injuries?" Ino asked cocking her head to the side slightly.

"What injuries?" Shikamaru smirked knowing what she meant.

"Your internal bleeding." Ino replied annoyed.

"I won't call that a injury, it doesn't affect me." Shikamaru said.

"Maybe not in the short term, but definitely in the long term." Ino said narrowing her eyes at him.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru sighed.

"What do you want Shikamaru? I know it's not because of my charming personality." Ino said smirking.

"You remember when I told you about Minoru's jutsus?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yeah, what do you want to know?" Ino said with a frown.

"Why could his clone pass right through Sakura?" Shikamaru asked.

"I'm not sure you were very vague, but he definitely created a new jutsu that's almost like an illusion of himself, but it's not a genjutsu though more like a hologram. I'm also not sure if he can pick up objects at will." Ino said.

"And his enhanced clan jutsu?" Shikamaru asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Definitely drugs and some weird jutsus." Ino sighed.

"Why are you asking me this now?" Ino asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm going with Naruto and your boyfriend to the meeting." Shikamaru smirked.

"Really?" Ino asked surprised.

"Yeah, see you when I get back." Shikamaru said as he turned to leave.

"Take care and listen to Sakura!" Ino exclaimed after Shikamaru.

"Yeah, yeah." Shikamaru said waving her off.

"Good, everyone's here." Naruto said as Shikamaru walked in his office.

"Let's go then." Shikamaru smiled.

"No fighting Shikamaru." Sakura glared at him as she walked past him.

"I'm a lazy guy..." Shikamaru started but got cut of by Sakura.

"With a vendetta, we all know what happened to Hidan." Sakura scoffed as they all walked outside.

If this was a few years back he would've flinched at the statement, but he accepted Asuma's death now but he was still sad about it. Nobody gets over a death to someone so dear to you, they only find a way to accept it and go on with their life's.

Sai drew four ink birds for them to ride on as everyone jump on a bird except Hinata who sat with Naruto making Sakura giggle a bit. The five of them flew on Sai's bird to the border between the land of fire and the land of wind. It didn't take them long to arrive at their destination, but when they got there Gaara was already there.

"Gaara!" Naruto greeted with a smile as they all climbed off Sai's bird before they popped into ink.

"Hello Naruto." Gaara said as emotionless as always.

"Anything?" Naruto asked approaching Gaara who stood crossed arms with Kankurou next to him and a few people Shikamaru didn't recognise behind him.

"No." Gaara said not moving.

"Do you think it could be a trap?" Naruto mused standing next to Naruto while the Konoha group bundled next to him.

"Could be." Gaara replied.

"I don't think it's a trap, Orochimaru either wants something or is taunting us." Shikamaru said boredly.

"What makes you say that?" Naruto blinked at Shikamaru as all heads turned to him.

"He won't attack a group with two Kages and capable shinobi's not to mention a jinchuuriki. Well not without an army at least, but Hinata would notice that." Shikamaru scoffed.

"Good point, Hinata do you see something?" Naruto asked looking at her.

"No." Hinata replied shaking her head.

"Hello children." A eerily voice greeted smugly from their left.

Everyone's heads snap towards the voice in surprise. Orochimaru was leading his group of four. Orochimaru was in front followed by Kabuto, Minoru and Temari. Naruto turned his head slightly at Hinata to look at her.

"I can't see them with my byakugan, they have no chakra network." Hinata said softly to Naruto and Shikamaru who was in front of her.

"Must be Minoru's clones." Shikamaru replied back softly.

"Silly children these are not clones, their holograms." Orochimaru chuckled surprising everyone.

 _Holograms? It's just like Ino said,_ Shikamaru thought as he tried to puzzle everything out until his eyes caught Temari's. The new Tsuchikage...

 **xXx**

Orochimaru was discussing business with the blond and the red head, and if Shikamaru wasn't lying then the red head must be her youngest brother. Since she was the Tsuchikage it was actually her job to negotiate with the Kages, but she didn't really have any matters to discuss with Suna or Konoha only Orochimaru had matters to discuss. She didn't really spend a lot of time in the office, she left most of that to Minoru since her mission was only to kill the Tsuchikage and gain control of the village. Orochimaru didn't say anything about leading it and frankly she didn't want to, but if Minoru betray her she would kill him and she made certain he knew it.

Temari thought Shikamaru died because her nightmares had stopped and Orochimaru stopped plotting against him, but she was glad he was still alive even if she'll never admit it. She heard her name being thrown around in their argument/negotiation a few times, but her attention was fixated on Shikamaru since they arrived it was only after he whispered to a girl behind him whom she assumed was a Hyuga did his warm, brown eyes meet hers.

Was she really that important to everyone that they wanted her on their side or was it deep bonds that made them want her on their side? Temari watched Shikamaru's conflicted eyes curiously. He kept a bored expression on his face, but you could see him contemplating and plotting in his eyes. Is he planning something? What is he thinking?

Temari eyed the opposite group one for one. The brown haired man with purple makeup took a defensive stance with crossed arms and a bitter frown. The Kazekage looked utterly emotionless with crossed arms while the Hokage was the exact opposite, you could see his every emotion on his face. The Hyuga shied away behind the Hokage and had a sad compassionate expression. The black haired man was the shame as the Kazekage while the pink haired girl, Sakura, had a hard expression and was constantly eyeing or glaring at Shikamaru for some reason.

It sounded like the negotiations was coming to an end and she knew they'll be gone before any of the opposing group can do anything about it. Shikamaru's plan isn't going to work.

 **xXx**

Shikamaru didn't waste his energy by trying to attack them now because he knew he would just go right through them plus Sakura would smack the hell out of him for not listening to her. Now he knew how Naruto felt all those years with Sakura on his team, poor guy. Shikamaru watched Temari with regret in his eyes because no matter how hard he tried to get her back he failed each time, even though everyone called him a genius.

It was obvious that Orochimaru was just mocking them because only Gaara made demands and Orochimaru laughed. And when Gaara said he was speaking to the Tsuchikage Orochimaru said he was. Did that mean that he was going to kill Temari or was Temari only there to take the political heat Orochimaru didn't want? Shikamaru looked slightly down at his shadow as he watched it extend to his back. He looked up at Temari and smirked at her making her frown in confusion.

"Find me when the tea party is done." Shikamaru whispered at Hinata who was curios, but confused as she just nodded and complied to his wishes.

Shikamaru turned and left in the direction behind their group. Naruto wanted to stop Shikamaru, but Hinata grabbed Naruto's arm lightly making eye contact with him as she shook her head. Naruto stared at her white eyes with a frown then after a while he smiled warmly at her and turned back at smirking Orochimaru who was watching them.

Shikamaru walked through the forest with a fast pace as he searched for Temari and soon enough he find her. She was sitting crossed leg next to Orochimaru on the grass. They were supposed to be a group of four namely Minoru, Kabuto, Orochimaru and Temari. But Minoru and Kabuto were missing. Shikamaru watched them and waited for them to wake up since he would alert everyone if he started attacking them now plus it would result on a full out war. He had to think smart about this.

Shikamaru sat patiently under a tree waiting for them to wake up. He was pretty sure they were going to wake up any minute because when he left Gaara looked like he wanted to crush something. And soon enough they did wake up with a satisfied smirk on Orochimaru's face.

 **xXx**

The moment Temari opened her eyes she knew Shikamaru was there and it made her scowl. Temari knew that Sakura was a medical ninja and she was glaring at Shikamaru a lot plus they were at a meeting which means there must be something medically wrong with him, then why the hell was he here alone? If Sakura didn't kick his ass about this then she will later.

"Shikamaru, what a pleasant surprise." Orochimaru said amused.

"Troublesome snake." Shikamaru sighed boredly.

"I knew you weren't dead." Orochimaru smiled eerily making Temari snap her head at him, why didn't he say anything to her?

"But I bet it would've been real convenient for you if I was." Shikamaru said boredly as he stood up while Orochimaru and Temari did.

"Of course. So to what do I how the honour?" Orochimaru smiled cooking his head to the side slightly.

"Temari's coming back with us whether you like it or not." Shikamaru said boredly.

"I'm getting bored of this silly conversation, get rid of him Temari." Orochimaru said with a displeased expression.

Orochimaru watched as Temari took out a kunai while she approached Shikamaru. Orochimaru expression went from displeasure to amusement as he watched Temari stab Shikamaru. Orochimaru loved the irony in Temari stabbing Shikamaru, Shikamaru had the shame expression he had when Orochimaru took Temari. He saw Shikamaru saying something to her, but dismissed it since he'll die anyway. Temari pulled out the kunai from Shikamaru's stomach then kicked him hard into the forest as she put her kunai back in her ninja pouch. Orochimaru smirked at the fact that Shikamaru, Konoha's finest strategist, is finally dead.

"Let's hope he stays dead this time." Temari said irritated as she walked back to Orochimaru blood dripping from her left hand.

Orochimaru frowned slightly at Temari's blood soaked hand as she walked towards him, didn't she stab him with her right hand. When Temari was next to Orochimaru they walled back to the hideout. They walked for a while before Orochimaru suddenly striked out at Temari. He used a snake arm to strike at Temari, but Temari was faster. She kicked the snake away then pinned it under her foot before she did a roundhouse kick on Orochimaru's head, which would've send him flying if she wasn't pinning his snake arm under her foot.

"Did Shikamaru get to you or did you finally get your memories back?" Orochimaru scoffed bitterly.

"Neither, I'm just sick of you." Temari said glaringly as she took her fan off her back.

"Why are you so worried about my memories is there something significant I should know about my memories?" Temari scoffed as she swung her fan as a club at Orochimaru's head.

"Not that I know of." Orochimaru replied as he grabbed her fan with his free arm.

"Liar." Temari grunted as she let go of her fan and used that hand to punch Orochimaru.

Orochimaru staggered back slightly then had a snake sword come out of his pinned snake arms mouth. The snake turned his head ultimately cutting Temari's ankle. Temari winched and stepped of the snake, but when she placed weight on her ankle she tumbled. He must've sliced of a tendon in her ankle since she's unstable when she stepped on it. Orochimaru slithered away as Temari limped slightly and grabbed her fan.

"This is where you die. Wind release: great sickle weasel technique!" Temari exclaimed as she engulfed Orochimaru's slithering body in her tornado.

She lifted him from the ground and cutted away at his body, but it wasn't long before he bursted into tons of snakes. Typical. Temari took a defensive stance ready to attack at any moment. Temari swung her fan to the left to blow away the senbons that was flying her way and in the middle of her attack she saw a snake sword come at her.

Temari scowled because she knew she couldn't dodge it while she was in the middle of an attack so instead she twisted herself so the snake sword would stab her arm.

"Wind release: air current wild dance." Temari grunted as she created a wild wind storm around her catching the real Orochimaru in it.

Temari's wind cutted away at everything around her and finally cutted the snake that was lodged in her arms head of. Temari plucked the snake sword out of her arm and allowed her wind to roar. When the storm around her died down she took the snake sword like a throwing knife and threw it at Orochimaru. She slightly missed Orochimaru's heart, but she did puncture his lung making Temari smirk.

"Let's finish this. Wind release: wind cutter technique!" Temari roared as she swung her fan at Orochimaru who didn't look very amused, but Orochimaru tried to dodge and succeeded to attack extend but not without losing his right arm.

"Formation of ten thousand snakes." Orochimaru snarled breathing heavily.

Temari scowled as she activated her stage one curse mark ignoring the discomforting pain as she quickly activated the second stage before the snakes could reach her. She spreaded her wings and took to the sky before the snakes could bite her.

"I don't die that easily, body replacement technique." Orochimaru said grumpily.

"Just die you damn snake." Temari glared annoyed at him as she swung her wing at him creating a strong gust with razor sharp feathers speeding his way, but before she could get him the thousands of snakes made a barrier around him that blocked her attack.

Temari gasped in horror as she felt one of Orochimaru's snakes bit her good ankle and she knew for a fact that they were poisonous. She quickly kicked of the snake and flew higher.

"Guess it's all or nothing now." Temari sighed as she flew to the back of Orochimaru's little snake dome.

His body replacement technique should be done by now so he'll emerge from the dome any second now and Temari was right, he did emerge from his dome and was just in time to turn around to stab her while she stabbed him.

"That was a stupid move." Orochimaru snarled.

"Was it?" Temari answered bitterly as she turned the blade in Orochimaru's chest while he did the shame in her stomach.

"Yes, now you'll die." Orochimaru said laughing until he choked up blood.

"Well your damn snake bit me so how long did I have to live anyway." Temari said as she smirked, but also started coughing up blood.

Orochimaru's snakes continued to bite her until Orochimaru couldn't sustain the jutsu anymore and they dissipated. Temari moved her blade upwards and punctured Orochimaru's heart as he smirked.

"The war is still coming and I'm still leading it child." Orochimaru laughed just before his eyes rolled to the back of his and he dropped dead.

Temari retracted her kunai from Orochimaru's chest and placed it back in her kunai holster after she wiped of his blood on his shirt. She stared at Orochimaru in disgust before she turned and limped away. She didn't know where to go or where she was going, but she could feel her curse mark taking a toll on her body and as she thought it couldn't get worse she felt the poison working its way through her body plus she now saw someone running towards her.

She squinted her eyes to see if it was a friend or foe, but had no luck because her vision started to get hazy and she felt herself starting to sway unsteadily. Tamara could faintly hear her name being called out in the distance, but everything was blurry now. She tried to take a step back, but she couldn't keep herself up anymore and was now falling to the ground as everything around her started to turn black. She was losing consciousness and she could her slow heartbeat drumming in her ear faintly, was she on the brink of death?

* * *

 **A/N: OMG I am SOOOO SORRY... This is the real chapter 9. I accidently posted a chapter I was beta-ing... I feel like such an idiot! Once again I am sorry, I only noticed it now when I saw the word count because I saw it was only a 1000 words and I never wrote a chapter in this story that was under 3000 words (it's like a policy of mine). Please forgive me and I hope this clarified some things...**


	10. OBLIVION

_**"When we say our last goodbye, I'll be the one to say I hope you stay." - Clarence coffee jnr run to in the dark**_  
 _ **_  
**_  
Shikamaru sat patiently under a tree waiting for Temari and Orochimaru to wake up. He was pretty sure they were going to wake up any minute because when he left Gaara looked like he wanted to crush something. And soon enough they did wake up with a satisfied smirk on Orochimaru's face. 

"Shikamaru, what a pleasant surprise." Orochimaru said amused. 

"Troublesome snake." Shikamaru sighed boredly. 

"I knew you weren't dead." Orochimaru smiled eerily. 

That statement and the smugness in Orochimaru's voice made Shikamaru wonder if there wasn't a mole in Konoha. 

"But I bet it would've been real convenient for you if I was." Shikamaru said boredly as he stood up while Orochimaru and Temari did. 

"Of course. So to what do I how the honour?" Orochimaru smiled chocking his head to the side slightly. 

"Temari's coming back with us whether you like it or not." Shikamaru said boredly. 

"I'm getting bored of this silly conversation, get rid of him Temari." Orochimaru said with a displeased expression. 

Shikamaru watched as Temari walked over to him. He wanted to believe she was on their side and that she'll leave Orochimaru and come back to them, but the facts point against all the things he prayed. He watched her with sad eyes as she approached him with a kunai. How can she be so loyal to Orochimaru, what did he do to her? 

"Are you really going to kill me?" Shikamaru asked softly. 

"What's wrong with you?" Temari asked ignoring him as she talked quickly. 

"Nothing's wrong with me." Shikamaru answered surprised. 

"Sakura kept glaring at you at the meeting. Now tell me Shikamaru, what's wrong with you?" Temari said glaring at him. 

"Nothing." Shikamaru said. 

"Don't lie to me and don't waste my time Shikamaru! What is wrong with you?" Temari exclaimed softly. 

"I have internal bleeding, but it's not that bad." Shikamaru sighed. 

"You had internal bleeding for two months, what the hell happened?" Temari asked shocked. 

"You stabbed me then Sakura operated on me, but my heart stopped and she still can't find the origin of my internal bleeding." Shikamaru said. 

"Your heart stopped?" Temari barely whispered looking up at him with sad, that was the slowest she talked the whole time. 

"I'm sorry." Temari tightened her grip on the kunai and stepped closer to Shikamaru as his eyes widened. 

Temari stared at Shikamaru's eyes as she swung her kunai at Shikamaru's stomach, but instead of stabbing Shikamaru she stabbed herself, her left hand. She stood close to him so Orochimaru would believe that she was stabbing Shikamaru and then Shikamaru didn't have to die. She didn't flinch at the pain at all she just kept staring at Shikamaru's eyes, but she also had experienced much worse than this. 

"What the he'll are you doing!" Shikamaru exclaimed in shock. 

"Shut up! I don't want Orochimaru hearing us." Temari scowled. 

"Why?" Shikamaru asked narrowing his eyes. 

"Because I'm saving you." Temari said. 

"I'm not letting you go again." Shikamaru said determined. 

"You have to. You're going to stay here and play dead while I go and kill Orochimaru." Temari said with furrowed eyebrows. 

"Not again." Shikamaru said sadly. 

"Shikamaru I'm not letting you die." Temari said sternly. 

"That's what you said last time." Shikamaru said in a sad whisper. 

"I'm coming back Shikamaru." Temari replied. 

"That's also what you told Mirai last time and you never came back. I'm not letting you go this time." Shikamaru said sadly with worry in his eyes. 

"Yes Shikamaru, you are. Now play dead!" Temari said annoyed as she took a step back and kicked him hard in the chest, sending him flying in the forest. 

Temari sighed and placed a irritated facade on her face so Orochimaru could believe her ploy. She turned around and walked towards Orochimaru while she placed her kunai back in her ninja pouch. 

"Let's hope he stays dead this time." Temari said irritated as she walked back to Orochimaru blood dripping from her left hand. 

Shikamaru rolled from his back to his side. That damn troublesome woman kicked the wind out of him. He rolled back on his back and gasped for air as he finally regained the ability to breath. Shikamaru heard crashing sounds in the distance and felt the wind picking up its pace which meant Temari was fighting Orochimaru. Shikamaru scowled, Naruto was sure taking his sweet time to get here. Shikamaru stood up and rubbed his aching chest as he jogged to where his extending shadow showed him. It wasn't long before he reached a unnatural clearing probably made from Temari's jutsus. He entered the clearing just to see Temari's cursed form fly to her death. Shikamaru's eyes widened as he saw Orochimaru turn around just in time to stab Temari with a severed snake sword head. 

He ran as fast as he could to stop Orochimaru, but he was to far away and could only watch as Temari got stab by Orochimaru and Orochimaru got stabbed by Temari. Shikamaru knew she was in a lot of pain because she couldn't maintain her cursed form anymore. Her skin was turning back to her naturally tanned skin and her hair grew back to its normal length plus her sharp wings disappeared. He watched as Orochimaru's snakes bit away at her back. Shikamaru desperately extended his shadow despite Sakura's disapproval. Shikamaru extended his shadow and penetrated Orochimaru's snakes through their heads to keep them from biting Temari until Orochimaru's jutsu disappeared and he finally died. Shikamaru let his tendrils disappeared as well as he picked up the pace. Temari was limping unsteadily in his direction, but she didn't seem to see him. The snakes must've been poisonous. 

"Temari!" Shikamaru yelled at her, but he didn't get any response she only looked in his direction without really seeing him. 

He watched her take a step back, but loose her balance and started to fall to the ground. He was close to her, but not that close to catch her in time. Shikamaru scowled as he extended his shadow to break her fall. He used his shadow gathering technique, the jutsu was originally used to pick items up, but he could use it to block Temari's fall it was possible but extremely difficult and needed a lot of focus and chakra. Shikamaru finally got to her and grabbed Temari as he made his shadow return to its normal size. He cuddled her in his arms as her head rested against his chest. Shikamaru took her pulse and was relieved that she still had a pulse even if it was weak, but her heart beated to slowly for his liking and her breathing was too shallow. He picked her up bridal style and jogged carefully to where the meeting was held with Temari in his arms. 

"Shikamaru... you're here." Temari said softly with closed eyes, her voice barely audible. 

"Of course I am." Shikamaru said strained, trying to hold back the fear in his voice. 

"Why do you love me?" Temari asked sleepily. 

"Beats the hell out of me, I just do." Shikamaru replied not denying the fact that he loved her. 

Temari gave a faint smile as a laugh, but after that she lost consciousness. 

"Hey, Temari stay with me." Shikamaru said fear evident in his voice, but got no reply. 

"Temari?" Shikamaru asked in alarm, but she didn't even react making Shikamaru really nervous now as his eyes widened and he picked up the pace. 

"I found him." He could hear Hinata saying softly in the distance followed by Naruto's loud voice. 

"Finally!" Naruto exclaimed. 

"Sakura!" Shikamaru yelled with a odd desperate choked up voice at Sakura who turned her head to them. 

Everyone's eyes widened as they saw the destroyed clearing with a dead Orochimaru in the middle of the clearing and Shikamaru with a unconscious Temari in his arms running to them. 

"Shikamaru, what the hell happened?" Sakura asked confused as he laid Temari before her so she could get to work. 

"She has a stab wound to her stomach and her left hand and she has multiple poisonous snake bites plus I think her cursed mark took a toll on her." Shikamaru explained quickly as Sakura nodded and started to stop Temari's bleeding and distract the poison from her system. 

"What happened, Shikamaru?" Naruto asked with a frown. 

"Temari fought Orochimaru." Shikamaru said running his hand through his hair as he watched Sakura work on Temari. 

"Did you also fight him?" Naruto asked with narrowed eyes. 

"No." Shikamaru replied. 

"Did you use any jutsu?" Sakura asked, but Shikamaru didn't answer. 

He suddenly felt really light headed and dizzy as stars danced across his vision and he also felt really unsteady on his feet. 

"Shikamaru, did you use any jutsus?" Sakura asked slowly and sternly. 

"Yes." Shikamaru said after he hesitated and regained himself. 

"I'll deal with you later. Sai get us to Konoha, now!" Sakura said glaring at Shikamaru the first half of her sentence then at Sai. 

Sai nodded and drew birds for them as Shikamaru helped Sakura get Temari on a bird then jumped onto another bird. Shikamaru and Sai got their own bird while Hinata sat with Naruto again and Temari laid on a bird with Sakura stabilising her on the way back. Shikamaru sat on the bird, already on edge and when Temari began screaming it didn't help his nerves at all. 

"What's happening Sakura?" Shikamaru asked tensely. 

"She's going into shock." Sakura replied trough gritted teeth. 

"We need to get her to the hospital." Sakura sighed softly. 

Shikamaru tensed up as they rode in silence back to Konoha with Temari breaking the silence with a scream every now and then. The ink birds landed right in front of the hospital and before they even landed Shikamaru jumped off his bird and onto Sakura's, taking Temari in his arms and jumped off the landing bird quickly followed by Sakura. The ink birds popped out of existence behind Shikamaru as he rushed inside the hospital with Sakura who screamed orders at nearby nurses behind him. Shikamaru looked worryingly down at Temari who was limb in his arms with her head hanging down and sweat on her face as she shook uncontrollably in his arms. A nursed rushed towards him with one of those hospital beds on wheels as he softly placed Temari on the bed. The nurses and Sakura took Temari from him and rushed away as Shikamaru followed them, but Sakura stopped him. 

"Shikamaru you can't come with us please go home or wait in the waiting area, but I'll let you know how she is when we're done." Sakura said as she turned around, Shikamaru wanted to argue with Sakura, but Sakura interrupted him before he could say anything. 

"Shikamaru let us do our job and I want to do a check up on you when I'm done." Sakura smiled reassuringly. 

Shikamaru reluctantly nodded his head as he watched Sakura rush away with the nurses. He was just about to leave when the nurses wanted to disappear behind a corner, but the worst case scenario happened. Temari woke up in a hallucinated state. It wouldn't be such a big deal if she was an ordinary person, but she was a ninja. Even with Sakura restraining her arms Temari still kicked the nurse's asses with her legs. Shikamaru walked quickly towards Temari as he extended his shadow towards her, but before Shikamaru's shadow could reach her Temari wrapped her legs over Sakura's head and flipped her over the hospital bed and against the opposite wall. 

"Temari." Shikamaru said calmly when she sat upright with her legs dangling from the side ready to escape. 

She was literally in a blind rage when she attacked the nurses and Sakura and she looked like she stared right through him without seeing him. Shikamaru's shadow connected to hers just before she wanted to jump of the bed and make a run for it. 

"Temari calm down." Shikamaru said, but it didn't look like she heard him she looked like a deer caught in headlights with wide eyes. 

Shikamaru walked until he was right in front of her as he cupped her face in his hands to make her look at him. 

"Temari, it's only me, you're okay, you're safe." Shikamaru said softly as he rested his head against Temari's. 

"Shikamaru?" Temari said confused as she snapped out of her hallucinated state. 

"Shikamaru are you okay?" Temari asked groggily at Shikamaru who seemed really dazed. 

"Shikamaru I told you not to use jutsus!" Sakura yelled as she recovered. 

"I'm okay." Shikamaru said softly as he started to sway unsteadily. 

"You! Go fetch Lady Tsunade, Sizune and uninjured nurses!" Sakura hollered at a nurse that slowly got up and limped away following Sakura's orders. 

Shikamaru was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open and when he closed them the next time he opened them he was on the floor with Sakura towering over him with her medical jutsu. Shikamaru moved his eyes from Sakura's glowing hands to Temari's worried eyes. She looked like she wanted to climb of the bed, but she looked just as tired as he felt and Sakura stopped her. 

"Temari stay on that damn bed and lie down!" Sakura exclaimed as she glared at Temari, but she didn't look afraid of Sakura's burst of anger. 

Temari didn't lie down, but she did listen to Sakura. 

"What did he do when we weren't there?" Sakura asked Temari. 

"I don't know, but I did kick him in his chest." Temari said tiredness heavily evident in her voice. 

"You kicked him in his chest?" Sakura asked confused. 

"Yeah, is he okay?" Temari asked with furrowed eyebrows. 

"No." Sakura sighed. 

The light around him faded and his mind went black. The sounds around him also faded into oblivion as he lost all consciousness.

Beep... Shikamaru groaned, the fog around his mind slowly clearing up. Beep... Shikamaru slowly opened his eyes and blinked rapidly as he tried to make sense of the things around him. Beep... The irritating beeping sound was finally registering to Shikamaru, it made him wonder what's going on. Beep... Oh yeah, he was in the hospital. Beep... Temari too. The irritating beeping sound got faster as his eyes shot opened while he quickly got up making a groan escape him as pain ripped through his stomach. Shikamaru looked rapidly around, but he was the only one in the white room. Shikamaru swung his legs of the bed and unplugged all the wires on his chest making the constant rhythmic beeping turn to a continuous long beep that never stopped or took a break. Shikamaru hopped of the bed with a grunt of pain. He walked towards the door in search of answers as he leaned on everything next to him for support on his way to the door. He didn't even get halfway when he got bombarded with nurses. 

"Shikamaru, what the hell are you doing!" Sakura exclaimed livid as she stormed into the room. 

Shikamaru was concerned that she'll hit him to death, but the beating never came only glaring. He was a patient after all. 

"Is Temari okay? Where is she?" Shikamaru asked a little shakily as he leaned against an empty bed to his right. 

"Calm down and get in that damn bed again, the whole hospital thought your heart stopped. Again!" Sakura raged as she glared at him and tried to help him back to the bed, but he simply brushed her off.

"Answer the question Sakura!" Shikamaru said threatingly making the nurses step back slightly, but not Sakura. 

"She's stable, but in a critical condition. She'll be okay, but she's in a coma and for where she is, she's in ICU." Sakura sighed as she helped Shikamaru to his bed. 

"What happened?" Shikamaru asked as he laid in the hospital bed. 

"She had too much poison in her blood luckily Lady Tsunade recognised the poison immediately and she was constantly bleeding the poison out, but her curse mark did take a toll on her body as well." Sakura said as she probed Shikamaru making the long beep get a rhythm again. 

"How long is she going to be in ICU?" Shikamaru sighed. 

"I'm going to release her tomorrow, but I don't know how long she'll be in a coma." Sakura said sadly. 

"How long was I out?" Shikamaru said. 

"Two days and don't stand up again, you'll tear out your stitches." Sakura smiled as Shikamaru saw his stitches for the first time. 

"Why was I out that long? I only passed out if I remembered correctly." Shikamaru asked confused. 

"We medically drugged you because your internal bleeding returned because you didn't listen to me, but on the bright side we could finally find its origin and fix it." Sakura said exaggerated then pleased with herself. 

"Thanks." Shikamaru said his mind elsewhere. 

Shikamaru laid the rest of the day in his bed looking out the window at the clouds, listening to Sakura and not climbing out his bed. Each second felt like a minute and each minute felt like an hour and each hour felt like an eternity for Shikamaru as he laid his day away. He didn't know why Sakura made such a big deal out of his internal bleeding cause it was really not that big of a deal, but Temari on the other hand she was a big deal. When Temari wake up and she still didn't have any memories he'll get Ino to take a look. The next morning Shikamaru woke up to two pairs of beeping. He slowly opened his eyes and blinked a bit so his eyes could adjust to the light. After his eyes adjusted to the light he looked to his left where the second beeping was coming from. Just like Sakura said, they released Temari from the ICU and she was now lying unconscious on the bed next to him. She looked so peaceful when she was asleep, but her slumbering frame made the question of will she ever wake up, tug at the back of his mind. The day passed away slowly leaving nothing to do for Shikamaru except stare at the clouds or watch Temari's sleeping form. Shikamaru felt comfort at Temari's rhythmic beeping heart and that her cheat rose and fell with each breath she took. It indicated she was alive and that's what matters. 

"Morning Shikamaru." Chouji greeted cheerfully the next morning. 

"Hn." Shikamaru grunted still asleep. 

"Come on Shikamaru you can't sleep the whole day." Chouji said with a raised eyebrow. 

"Hn." Shikamaru grunted as he pulled the sheet over his head. 

"You know it's already 12 o'clock." Chouji sighed. 

"Hn." Shikamaru grunted his reply. 

"I see Temari's out of the ICU." Chouji said munching his chips. 

"Yeah, they moved her yesterday." Shikamaru said removing the sheet from his face as he talked to Chouji. 

"Oh, how's she doing?" Chouji asked. 

"She's alive and that's all that counts. Luckily they got all the poison out, we just don't know when she'll wake up." Shikamaru sighed. 

"I think she'll wake up soon." Chouji said wanting to be positive for his friend. 

"How's everyone reacting to Temari being back?" Shikamaru asked. 

"Well the Hyuga's is n little hostile towards her, but luckily Hinata forgives easily and the Hyuga's will follow her. But Tenten is all over the place, she doesn't know if she wants to forgive Temari, but there's no denying that she's mad." Chouji sighed. 

"Well she has a reason to be mad, Temari did kill Neji." Shikamaru said solemnly. 

"Shikamaru you're finally up! Hey Chouji." Sakura gleamed as she walked into the room. 

"Hey Sakura." Chouji greeted while munching his chips. 

"I see your recovering well, we're just going to keep you for overnight observation then you're free to leave." Sakura said as she removed all the wires from him and turned the beeping machine off. 

Now there was only one rhythmic beeping... 

"Thanks Sakura." Shikamaru said. 

"Don't mention it." Sakura smiled as she walked out the door. 

"I should be heading out too, Naruto gave me a mission." Chouji smiled. 

"Enjoy." Shikamaru smiled back as Chouji left the room. 

The day passed by and the next day Sakura released Shikamaru from the hospital, but he still stayed at the hospital he only left to eat, change and sleep at his apartment, except the one time he was actually supposed to be at the hospital so Sakura could do a check-up and remove his stitches. He waited days and nights for Temari to wake up until four days later, she finally did wake up. Temari groaned as she opened her eyelids and blinked a few times, trying to make sense of her surroundings. She looked around herself until her eyes fell on Shikamaru's slumbering figure. He laid back on the chair next to her bed with his arms crossed and his head tilted back. She smiled at him and decided not to wake him up, but she did try to sit up which was a big mistake. She gasped at the pain that shot through her body making Shikamaru's eyes fly open in alarm. 

"Whoa there troublesome woman, your body is still healing." Shikamaru chuckled as his eyes rested on her, but Temari didn't answer. 

"You know it took you long enough to wake up, I was starting to get worried." Shikamaru teased. 

"Sorry for the inconvenience." Temari shot back. 

"I should probably call Sakura since your awake, don't go anywhere." Shikamaru said as he stood up. 

"You're kidding right." Temari laughed as Shikamaru left. 

Temari stared at the roof as she was alone in the room and couldn't do anything, but luckily Shikamaru didn't take that long to find Sakura. Shikamaru entered the room with Sakura as she immediately strode over to Temari to examine her. 

"Glad to see you're finally awake." Sakura said as she examined Temari. 

"Glad to be awake, I feel like a zombie." Temari groaned. 

"That's because you were in a coma for a week." Sakura commented. 

"Dammit!" Temari said alarmed with wide eyes. 

"What's wrong?" Shikamaru immediately asked. 

"Are you in pain?" Sakura asked after Shikamaru. 

"I forgot." Temari said barely whispering. 

"Temari, what's wrong?" Shikamaru asked as he walked to Temari's side worryingly. 

"The war is still coming." Temari said softly as she looked at Shikamaru. 

"What war?" Shikamaru asked tensing up. 

"The one Orochimaru is leading." Temari said with a hard face. 

"But you killed him." Sakura said confused. 

"Right before he died he told me he was still going to lead the war." Temari said. 

"Reanimation jutsu." Shikamaru said with a hard face. 

"We need to let Naruto know." Sakura said. 

"I'll go, but I'll be back." Shikamaru said as he smiled at Temari then left. 

Shikamaru jumped from roof to roof to Naruto's office and when he got there he knocked on the door first before going in. 

"Come in." Naruto mused as Shikamaru came in. 

"Shikamaru, did you come to _help_ me do some paperwork." Naruto grinned slyly. 

"No." Shikamaru answered bluntly. 

Usually when Naruto said help him do paperwork, he usually means that he does nothing while Shikamaru get buried under his paperwork. 

"Figures." Naruto sighed crest fallen. 

"There's a war coming Naruto." Shikamaru said with a hard face. 

"What!" Naruto exclaimed in outrage. 

"Kabuto's going to use reanimation jutsu to revive Orochimaru then Orochimaru will lead Iwagakure into war." Shikamaru said. 

"When?" Naruto asked with a hard face. 

"I don't know." Shikamaru sighed. 

"How do you know about the war?" Naruto asked curiously. 

"Temari told us." Shikamaru said. 

"Oh so she finally woke up." Naruto smiled. 

"Yeah, it's about time too." Shikamaru said.

"You can go now if you like, but call Hinata for me please." Naruto said dismissing Shikamaru. 

"Will do." Shikamaru said as he left with his hands in his pockets. 

Shikamaru walked calmly to the Hyuga mansion to get Hinata, but before he got there he passed Ino's flower shop and entered. 

"Hey Ino." Shikamaru said as he walked in. 

"Oh hey Shikamaru, how are you?" Ino asked with a smile as she turned around to look at him. 

"I'm good and you?" Shikamaru replied. 

"I'm always good, what can I help you with?" Ino asked cheerfully. 

"I want you to try and get Temari's memories back." Shikamaru said. 

"Oh, she's awake?" Ino asked surprised. 

"Yeah, so will you try?" Shikamaru asked. 

"I'll try, but I don't want you to get your hopes up. Trying to get someone's memory back is extremely difficult in her case." Ino said sceptically. 

"But you're Ino Yamanaka, you'll get a loop hole." Shikamaru smiled. 

"Damn right I will, I'll start as soon as she gets out the hospital." Ino laughed. 

"Thanks Ino." Shikamaru said as he left. 

"Don't mention it." Ino smiled. 

Shikamaru continued his walk to the Hyuga mansion with his hands in his pockets while he watched the clouds, something he didn't do in a long time. It took Shikamaru some time to get to the Hyuga mansion since it was so far and when he finally got there he knocked on the door. The guy who answered the door looked stern and stuck up, like Hinata's father, except this guy had much shorter hair. 

"Hello, can I help you?" Some Hyuga he didn't know asked. 

"Yeah I'm here for Hinata, the Hokage wants to see her." Shikamaru replied. 

"I'll go fetch her then." The Hyuga said as he bowed slightly and left Shikamaru at the door. 

Luckily the guy didn't take long to find Hinata. 

"Hi Shikamaru, you wanted to see me?" Hinata asked friendly. 

"Actually Naruto wants too see you, there's a war coming." Shikamaru sighed looking at Hinata's shocked, taken aback face.

 _ **_**_

 **A/N: Hey guys just to clear the air, I know nothing about medical stuff so I just went with it and to make sure everyone caught the beginning, the beginning of this chapter was last chapters ending just in Shika's POV. I hate to admit this, but this story is coming to an end and I'm torn between a happy and a sad ending so to solve this major problem I'm going to leave it to the readers. The ending that gets the most votes will determine the ending, so if the sad ending win this story will have a sad ending and if the happy ending wins the story will have a happy ending. So let the commenting voting commence and NEVER DOUBT ME, your fantastic author signing off :P**


	11. THE CHARMING CONTRAPTION

_**"Came to you with a broken faith. Gave me more than a hand to hold. Caught before I hit the ground. Tell me I'm safe, you've got me now. Would you take the wheel If I lose control? If I'm lying here**_  
 _ **Will you take me home?" - Take me home Jess Glynne**_

"Hey troublesome woman." Shikamaru smiled as he walked into the hospital room.

"Hey lazy ass." Temari smirked back from her hospital bed.

"What happened to smart ass?" Shikamaru smirked as he walked to her bed.

"Come on Shikamaru don't kid yourself, you're the laziest person I've ever met." Temari scoffed rolling her eyes.

"Then I was probably to lazy to bring you some Kenchin soup." Shikamaru shrugged as he pulled out two bowls of soup from the bag he had with him.

Shikamaru slouched in his chair as he rested his feet on Temari's hospital bed and began eating the soup that rested on his stomach. Temari's eyes widened, she didn't even notice the plastic bag he had with him until now.

"Stop being so childish you selfish ass!" Temari sad glaring at him.

"You know, being nice won't kill you." Shikamaru smiled as he continued eating the soup.

"I actually get this deathly nauseating feeling in the pit of my stomach when I'm being nice to you, now give me the damn soup Shikamaru." Temari said glaringly as she stretched her arm out waiting for Shikamaru to hand her the soup.

"Didn't your father ever teach you to say please or thank you." Shikamaru asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I have no memory of it." Temari smirked confidently.

"Troublesome woman and here I am risking my life to bring you some soup." Shikamaru sighed in defeat handing her the other bowl of soup.

"How noble of you." Temari laughed taking the soup from Shikamaru.

"Is that a thanks I hear?" Shikamaru asked smirking.

"No, I think that's Sakura you hear marching to the room to kill you." Temari smirked back.

"You may be right." Shikamaru said in mock fear.

"I hate the stupid hospital diet she gave me, but damn I love this soup." Temari sighed eating the soup.

Shikamaru knew the soup was her favorite.

"Yeah, but you do have a punctured stomach." Shikamaru pointed out.

"Yet here you are feeding me soup that's not on my diet." Temari smirked.

"I could always stop." Shikamaru shrugged amused.

"Not even you can be that heartless." Temari glared at a chuckling Shikamaru.

"How long has the Anbu been outside?" Shikamaru asked curiously as he placed his empty bowl on Temari's bedside table.

"I don't know, he was there since I woke up." Temari said.

"I'll talk to Naruto about him." Shikamaru said.

"No, leave him, the Hokage has reason not to trust me." Temari replied placing her soup bowl on the bedside table as she glanced out the window.

"Fine, whatever you say." Shikamaru sighed crossing his arms, he knew she was right, but he knew she wasn't going to hurt anyone. He trusted her.

"I've gotta go, I'll be back." Shikamaru said as he stood up.

"The Hokage's right Shikamaru, remember that." Tamari said narrowing her eyes ever so slightly at Shikamaru.

"Yeah, yeah. I better make these bowls dissappear before Sakura sees them." Shikamaru said taking the bowls from the bedside table and putting them in the bag then began walking to the door.

"Watch out for Sakura on your way out." Tamari chuckled.

"Glad to see you still care." Shikamaru replied with one hand in his pocket as he walked away.

Shikamaru walked casually to the hospital exit. Ino told him he'll take a look at Temari today and he didn't want to leave her alone with Ino and her jutsus, but he has a team of troublesome kids he has to train and tend to. He also knew Temari was getting released today, but Sakura didn't tell him when exactly. Shikamaru sighed and soon after heard a haunting sound that could've given him nightmares for days to come.

"Shikamaru!" Sakura roared behind Shikamaru making him cringe.

"What the hell is in your hand?" Sakura exclaimed behind him.

"Dammit." Shikamaru whispered to himself as he stopped dead in his tracks and his face fell.

"Nothing." Shikamaru replied not looking back as he walked away as fast as he could, away from Sakura.

"Get back here Shikamaru!" Sakura yelled behind him as she followed him.

"I actually have somewhere I need to be, I'll talk to you next time" Shikamaru said as he started running away.

"As if! Get back here dammit!" Sakura yelled as she ran after him.

Shikamaru ran around the hospital towards the exit as he turned every corner in the maze of the hospital to try and shake Sakura, but she was resilient and hot on his trail. If he could just make it outside the hospital. He only needed to get outside the hospital. Shikamaru could finally see the light at the end of the hospital tunnel's gray abyss as he made a brake for the exit.

"Lady Sakura!" A nurse gasped as she saw Sakura chasing Shikamaru, she probably had a new patient for Sakura.

Shikamaru felt relieve flood through him as he finally made it through the hospital exit and roamed in the freedom of the daylight. Sakura stopped right in front of the exit, almost like a vampire stopping from entering the sunlight.

"You won't be that lucky next time Shikamaru." Sakura called in a irritated voice to Shikamaru making him shiver slightly in fear.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru scoffed as he threw the bag in his hands away and walked calmly to Naruto's office with his hands in his pockets.

Shikamaru walked to Naruto's office door and knocked on the door before he entered. He opened the door and raised a eyebrow as he closed it behind him. Naruto had a suspiciously goofy smile on his face while Hinata was turning as red as a tomato, even though she wasn't as shy around Naruto as she always was. But behind every smile from Hinata there was still a hint of shyness in her smiles when Naruto was around.

"Should I ask what you two were doing before I entered?" Shikamaru smirked standing in front of Naruto's desk making Hinata blush even more if that was even possible.

"Hinata could see you coming a mile away." Naruto laughed proudly.

"What's up Shikamaru?" Naruto asked cheerfully.

"Have the Huyga's seen anything yet?" Shikamaru asked looking at Hinata.

Naruto placed most of the Huyga's on the border of Konoha so they can detect an army as soon as they stepped in the lines of their excellent vision.

"No, you'll be the first one to know if we do see something." Hinata said facing Shikamaru.

"That's not all you wanted to know, is it?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No." Shikamaru said solemnly.

"Let's hear it then." Naruto said leaning back into his chair.

"Why is there Anbu watching Temari?" Shikamaru asked already knowing the answer, but it didn't mean he liked it.

"Shikamaru, we both know the answer to that." Naruto sighed in defeat.

"I know, but she's not going to do anything to threaten the village." Shikamaru said stuffing his hands deeper in his pockets.

"Is that what you know or what you want to believe? She killed Neji, Shikamaru." Naruto said as his head hanged slightly lower as his eye line sifted to the ground.

Hinata flinched at the statement while Shikamaru's eyes met Hinata's sad white eyes. He wanted to protest, but Hinata shooked her head ever so slightly.

"Shikamaru I know you have absolute faith in her, but I still have to take precautions to protect the village." Naruto said raising his head again.

"She's not the threat." Shikamaru said.

"But she could be a dangerous one." Naruto said resting his head on his intertwined hands.

Shikamaru opened his mouth to protest, but Naruto interrupted him rudely.

"I'm not going to retract the Anbu Shikamaru, so you'll just have to deal with it whether you like it or not and nothing is going to change my mind." Naruto said with a tone of finality in his voice.

"If Temari gets her memory back would you retract the Anbu?" Shikamaru asked not displaying any emotions on his face.

"Guess so." Naruto said highly doubting that she'll regain her memory.

"See you soon then, I guess." Shikamaru said with a slight smirk on his face as he turned and walked out the door.

"What was that about?" Naruto asked Hinata curiously.

"I'm not completely sure." Hinata said with a confused frown.

"Hey Temari, good news!" Sakura said cheerfully as she entered the room.

"You're getting released today!" Sakura grinned as Temari looked from the window to Sakura.

"That's good." Temari smiled faintly.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Sakura asked concerned as she walked to Temari who stood up from the bed.

"Nothing." Temari said turning her back on Sakura.

"Are you sure? Is anything bothering you?" Sakura asked handing Temari her clothes.

"No, I just have some things on my mind." Temari said taking the clothes from Sakura.

"Well you know you can always talk to me." Sakura smiled reassuringly at Temari.

"Thanks Sakura." Temari smiled back.

"And don't worry about where you're going to stay, Shikamaru will find you. You'll probably stay with him until you're brothers get here." Sakura giggled.

"When are they arriving?" Temari asked looking away.

"Tomorrow." Sakura smiled.

"Why are you guys doing so much trouble for an enemy?" Temari asked solemnly looking at the clothes Sakura gave her.

"You were never our enemy." Sakura replied softly.

"I almost killed you, how can you be so calm?" Temari asked confused.

"You never really meant to kill us you only did what Orochimaru told you, he is our enemy." Sakura said disgust in her voice when she had to say the snakes name.

Orochimaru did to Shikamaru what he did to Sakura and he did to Temari what he did to Sasuke. Orochimaru had no end to his cruelty.

"But I killed the people from your village anyway." Temari scoffed with guilt as she headed for the bathroom to change.

"Oh Temari." Sakura sighed sadly as she waited for Temari to change.

After Temari changed she went back outside to the hospital room she grew familiar with. She looked down at the black kimono she wore. It fitted perfectly. She stroked the kimono fondly.

"That's what you always wore before you went missing." Sakura said sadly sitting on Temari's hospital bed.

"Orochimaru always told me I had no family and the friends I had all betrayed me. He said they stabbed me through my back, that's why I have a scar on my lower right back and stomach... Sakura, what really happened the day I went missing?" Temari asked without emotion looking out the window at the shadows that formed from the midday sun.

"Well we went on a joined mission. The mission was supposed to be me, Ino, Sai and Sasuke. You probably can't remember them" Sakura laughed bitterly then continued.

"But then Sasuke never came back to the village so Naruto sent me, Sai, Shikamaru and you. We were to attend a ball at Iwakagura and catch the person who were abducting the people of the village, but it was all a trap. Orochimaru wanted to abduct Sasuke, but took you instead since he never went. It was actually a really lovely ball and you and Shikamaru where so cute together, but then we all lost sight of you and we couldn't find you. Luckily Shikamaru could track you and he found you in the woods with Orochimaru. Sai and I weren't even in the picture we only found Shikamaru's unconscious body after Orochimaru gave you the curse mark and stabbed you on accident when you blocked him from stabbing Shikamaru. By the time Sai and I got there and Shikamaru woke up, you where long gone." Sakura told the story of that fateful night also looking out the window now.

"Shikamaru searched for you day and night never giving up on you, even when we all told him you were dead." Sakura said feeling guilty as Temari scowled.

"He even punched Naruto and Sasuke when you went missing, but I'm not completely sure why. It seems so out of character for Shikamaru, but Naruto knew something." Sakura said with a frown she wanted to continue, but Temari left the room with a simple thanks.

She's heard enough of Sakura's story.

Temari walked to the roof of the hospital and stood at the railing overlooking the village. The village and the people in the village never stopped growing and changing even when she was gone. Nothing waited for her when she was gone. She was left behind. Temari had an uneasy feeling flowing through her. Everyone had so much memories of her when she looked in their eyes, but she had none. A dull pain started growing in the back of her neck, but she brushed it off because the pain was so small she hardly felt it.

"There you are!" An exaggerated voice said behind her.

Temari snapped her head towards the woman behind her. She had beautiful long blonde hair and big turquoise eyes that had so much care in them plus a purple outfit that revealed her stomach. Ino, was her name, if Temari remembered correctly.

"I've been looking everywhere for you!" Ino exclaimed rolling her eyes.

"And why is that?" Temari asked confused, why would Ino be looking for her?

"I, Ino Yamanaka, am going to get your memories back." Ino grinned confidently.

"Is that so?" Temari chuckled at her ridiculous statement.

"Of course! Your buddy Minoru isn't the only one who is good with messing with people's minds." Ino laughed as Temari snorted when she called Minoru her buddy.

"How are you planning to get my memories back?" Temari asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well there's this charming contraption made for channeling Yamanaka's jutsus that can allow me to dominate anyone's mind for quite some time." Ino informed.

"Where's this charming contraption?" Temari asked curiously.

"The interrogation building." Ino grinned with a slight mock evilness to it.

"Sounds charming indeed, shall we go then?" Temari laughed.

"Yeah, I have nothing better to do now. Except shopping, running a flower shop or cuddling with my hot boyfriend..." Ino mused playfully.

"I get the point." Temari laughed interrupting Ino.

Temari walked with peaceful content with Ino to Konoha's interrogation quarters. Ino talked non-stop, but Temari wasn't listening. She instead admired the village in bliss as they walked. This was the first time in a long time that Temari didn't have to be on guard or felt unsafe. It was a long time since she felt this safe. It was also her _first_ time in Konoha.

But this daydream was dangerous, because it left her wanting more and peace never lasted long. The dull pain in her neck returned, but only for a second.

"Where here!" Ino sung as she interrupted Temari's thoughts.

"Welcome to what's going to be your new personal hell." Ino said playfully.

"What?" Temari exclaimed shocked as she snapped her head towards the blonde.

"Kidding, sort of." Ino laughed entering the building with a reluctant Temari following.

"So how exactly are you going to get my memories back?" Temari asked narrowing her eyes at Ino slightly as Ino maneuvered through the dark hallways like she was there a million times before.

"Your amnesia isn't because of any medical reasons, that's why Sakura couldn't do anything to help you. Your amnesia is caused because of that curse mark of yours. There are no recordings of a way to remove the curse mark, but one person was indeed successful in removing one. His name is Sasuke Uchia." Ino said seriously.

"So what's the problem?" Temari asked confused.

"His brother, Itachi Uchia, removed it with his perfect Susanoo. He was the last remaining Uchia who possessed a Susanoo who carried the Sword of Totsuka. A sword used to seal away anything it touches. He used the Sword of Totsuka to remove Sasuke's curse mark and seal it away in that sword, but he's long since dead." Ino said as a small glimmer of hope died in Temari.

"I'll be trying to break the curse mark through your mind, since it attached itself to the side of your brain where you keep your memories in order to keep your body alive. But it's risky because if I make a mistake you'll be brain dead." Ino said opening a double door to a medium size hall.

In the middle of this medium sized hall was something Temari has never seen before in her life. It looked like a steel dome that could fit a fully grown man in it with a hole at the top of the dome. The dome had four cables coming from it to four big headsets that rested on cushions on the floor.

"This must be your charming contraption." Temari said curiously taking slow steps in the room as Ino strolled to the biggest headset.

"This is it. My dad built it." Ino said sadly as she stroked the headset fondly.

"What happened to your dad?" Temari asked curiously, she couldn't help herself.

"You'll find out, the same happened to Shikamaru's dad." Ino replied making Temari frown.

"So are you still game?" Ino grinned holding the headset under her arm.

"Of course." Temari smirked approaching Ino and the contraption.

"You're just like I remember you." Ino smiled sentimental.

"Let's get started." Temari said seriously.

"Firstly I'll examine your curse mark and after that if I'm successful, we'll shift through your memories, but I need to find some shinobi to help me then I'll strap you in." Ino said before she walked away through the door leaving Temari alone in the hall.

Temari slowly walked over to the Yamanaka's contraption and stroked it with a finger. Was Ino really joking or was this really going to be her new personal hell. Temari contemplated everything she remembered from the last two years after she lost everything. All her memories. But something Shikamaru said caught her attention.

 _"And that necklace you wear, I was the one who gave it to you the night you lost your memories and Orochimaru took you. You are the most troublesome woman I have ever known, but that is why I love you." Shikamaru sighed as he hugged her slightly tighter._

 _"Who are you?" Temari whispered._

 _"You know who I am." Shikamaru said._

 _"You're a smart ass, aren't you? But like I said you had two years to find me so I'm leaving now." Temari said regaining herself._

 _"And in those two years all I did was search for you and now I have finally found you, I'll drag you back kicking and screaming if I have to." Shikamaru said bluntly._  
Did Shikamaru really mean what he said or was this just like the nasty tricks Orochimaru liked to play, can she really trust him. Or is this whole village like the hell hole Orochimaru ruled. The underworld.

"I'm back." Ino sung as she interrupted Temari's thoughts.

She entered the room with four shinobi following her in. There was three guys and a girl that followed her in. The girl had a browner blonde shade than Ino and both the girl and the two guys had a slightly darker shade of green in their eyes than Ino, but the last guy had pitch black eyes and raven black hair to match his eye. He was a stark contrast to the group.

"I thought you only needed three shinobi." Temari asked confused.

"I do, but a girl can have a boyfriend, can't she?" Ino giggled wrapping her arms around the black haired man's waist.

"Temari this is Sai. He was with you on the mission when you went missing." Ino said the cheerfulness in her voice disappearing slightly at the second part of her sentence as Sai wrapped his arms around her shoulders protectingly.

"It's nice to finally see you again Temari. Everybody was worried about you." Sai smiled and she nodded, but she couldn't tell if his smile was sincere or fake.

How could they have been worried if they thought she was dead?

Temari stood next to Sai with crossed arms not saying a word as she watched Ino help the Shinobi from her clan put on the headsets of the contraption and focus their chackra in the contraption.

"Let's get you settled in Temari." Ino called Temari over.

Ino opened the front of the contraption expertly making Temari slightly nervous. How many times did she use this machine and for what? Torture or helping people like her. Ino opened and waited for Temari to get in.

"Hey, it's going to be alright." Ino smiled reassuringly.

"I know." Temari said more to herself than Ino as she eyed the contraption.

She wished Shikamaru was here. He somehow always made her feel better. Temari eyed the hollow inside of the contraption and slowly, but reluctantly climbed inside the machine. Temari sat down so she would fit inside the contraption, but she started feeling slightly claustrophobic when Ino closed the contraption. It completely covered her body only leaving her head exposed.

"Are you ready?" Ino asked fitting the headset on her head.

"More than I'll ever be, but I just have one question." Temari said.

"Will you see all my memories?" Temari asked pulling up her nose.

"Unfortunately for you and fortunately for me, yes." Ino grinned.

"But what if I don't want you to know some of them." Temari asked frowning.

"Then it's my secret to know, honey. Why, do you have something to hide?" Ino laughed.

"I don't know... Besides the things I experienced with Orochimaru will leave you wishing you never helped me. Last question." Temari sighed, Ino looked slightly worried after Temari's statement.

After all, pretty girls didn't know the things that she knew.

"That's your third question." Ino laughed.

"Do you know where Shikamaru is?" Temari asked looking away embarrassed.

"Not at the moment, but he'll be here soon. I promise..." Ino said reassuringly as her face softened.

"Sai dear, come here for a second." Ino called to Sai.

"Please call Shikamaru for me." Ino whispered in Sai's ear as he bended down to Ino's level.

"I don't want to leave you, this is the first time you're trying something like this." Sai argued softly with Ino.

"It's okay I'm not alone, just go." Ino whispered back.

Sai sighed reluctantly as he kissed Ino on the forehead then left leaving Ino to her own devices.

"Are you lovebirds done?" Temari asked uncomfortably because of her claustrophobia.

"Get ready. Mind possession jutsu." Ino exclaimed as she quickly formed hand seals and before Temari knew it her world went black.

After Ino's jutsu came the blackness. Temari didn't fight against the consistent presence of Ino's chackra or her jutsu. Temari had no idea what Ino was doing or how long she was left in total darkness, but as time passed pictures suddenly appeared that blended into a video of what seemed to be her memories. Temari stared at a little girl with dirty blonde hair in four ponytails and teal eyes. She was watching the life drain out of a light brown haired woman with a little child screaming in the woman's arms as angry and confused sand danced around the little new born. The light brown haired woman bared a close resemblance to herself and the little blonde haired girl.

Was that her as a child?

"Ino where are you? What is this?" Temari asked confused and slightly panicked, but she received no answer.

Did Temari really want to know her past?

Because so far she wasn't liking it.

The little girl had tears in her eyes like all little girls had when their mother was about to die. The little girl's head suddenly snapped behind her making Temari also look back to see what the little girl saw. It was a dark red haired man with a permanent scowl on his face. That must be her father. Temari looked around the room. So the dying woman must be her mother, the scowling man must be her father, the whimpering brown haired kid must be her younger brother and finally the crying baby must be her youngest brother. Her father entered the room fully revealing an old white haired woman behind him.

"Lady Chiyo." The kid version of Temari whispered.

"Temari, Kankurou, please leave the room." Her father said coldly.

"Why?" The child Temari asked defensively with slight fear in her voice.

"Do as I say." Her father growled at her as little Kankurou walked too little Temari's side.

"Listen to your father Temari and remember, Temari, Kankurou, Gaara, I'll always love you and watch over you three." Her mother smiled weakly, but with so much love in her eyes.

Gaara... what a nice name.

Her mother had the warmest and most loving smile Temari has ever seen. A beautiful smile, even when she was dying. Her smile could've calmed roaring storms...

Little Temari gulped and fighted against her tears as she walked reluctantly out the room, tugging little Kankurou with her. It all came back to her.

She was Temari no Sabaku of the village hidden in the sand, eldest daughter of Karura and Rasa. She had two younger brothers Kankurou and Gaara. Her father was the fourth Kazekage and her mother died giving birth to Gaara while Lady Chiyo, one of their village elders, infused Gaara with the one tailed demon upon birth.

The world around Temari faded to black as her memory of Gaara's birth dissipated.

It wasn't long before the blackness disappeared and was painted with the disastrous colors of her memories. Temari was leaning against a large tombstone watching the scene before her with crossed arms. Suna was humid and warm blowing its unforgiving sand through the black clothes of the gathered people. It was a funeral, but Temari couldn't tell for who it was, yet. She walked closer to the funeral to see the picture on the coffin. Temari gasped, the man bore a striking resemblance to her own mother. His face held love and caring towards others just like her mother's did. Temari turned to the crowd to see who she could recognize. She was surprised to see little Temari in the front row, but it was expected otherwise why would she be here? Next to little Temari was little Kankurou and to her right was her father with his uncaring expression, but she could see slight sadness in his eyes and next to him was Lady Chiyo and a man resembling her age. One thing was bothering Temari though, were was little Gaara?

Temari's eyes furrowed, if they all were here who was looking after little Gaara? He's still a baby he can't take care of himself.

"Today we are gathered here to mourn the loss of a devoting Shinobi, medical-nin, trusted brother and beloved uncle." The priest began struggling to keep himself together because of Suna's treacherous winds.

"We are gathered here to say our last goodbyes to Yashamaru..." The priest continued.

Yashamaru... Temari repeated the name as she turned back to look at the photo of the man. Temari guessed the man to be her mother's brothers, since they looked so similar to each other making him her uncle. What happened to her uncle? She watched the funeral service play out for her uncle and it didn't surprise her in the least that her father was the first one to leave dragging little Temari and little Kankurou with him, even thought Yashamaru was family. All the memories of before the funeral came rushing back to her.

She was Temari no Sabaku of the village hidden in the sand, eldest daughter of Karura and Rasa. She had two younger brothers Kankurou and Gaara. Her uncle's name was Yashamaru, the younger brother of her mother Karura. The old man next to lady Chiyo was in fact her brother, Ebizou, and the other elder of the village hidden in the sand. Yashamaru loved his elder sister dearly as well as her children and took it upon himself to take care of them after Karura died. He was Temari's father's right hand man and a Anbu. Her father however gave him a suicide mission...

Kill Gaara. The little child who was barely four however he failed because their mothers love protected him, but it did cause Gaara to become the sociopath he was today and unleash his monstrous one tail state on their village. How can a father be so cruel to his own child and turn him into a weapon only to try and assassinate him. The world around Temari faded to black again as her memory of her uncle's, Yashamaru, funeral dissipated to the black abyss as usual. Temari waited patiently for the next memory to grace her with her _fantastic_ past. Temari groaned from the headache that was starting to form and the dull pain in her neck was intensifying, but it was still not painful enough to bother her so she wrote it off.

The picture of her next memory formed and what she saw was absolutely horrible. There were bodies everywhere and even more blood. She has massacred a village before, but there was never this much blood and the bodies were never this mutated. Temari's feet where getting soaked from the pool of blood that covered every inch of the ground. Her eyes scanned over one of the mutated bodies, it was sickening and was causing Temari to get nauseous.

"That's enough Gaara, the missions completed." Temari's calm voice said making Temari snap to the source of the voice.

It came from inside the house to Temari's right. Temari hurried to the house to see what's going on. Temari hurried to the room and stopped at the doors entrance.

"I'll decide when it's enough." Gaara replied threateningly shooting a deadly glare at a kid like Temari, a glare with intent to kill.

The little Gaara Temari saw in her memories was now a child and a killer. He was standing with one hand raised towards a ball of floating sand. Inside the floating ball of sand was a woman. Crying for Gaara to spare her. Calling for Kankurou to save her. Calling for Temari to do something. But not one of them moved a muscle. They stood and complied to everything Gaara said so their little brother wouldn't kill them. Temari watched her younger self trying not to turn her head, but in the end she did look away as Gaara crushed the poor innocent woman in satisfaction sending her blood curling scream ripping through the dead of night. The woman's blood sprayed everywhere making the younger Temari flinch as it stained her face.

She slowly lifted her arm and rubbed the blood off her cheek, like it has happened a hundred times before. She turned her head reluctantly watching the unrecognizable mutated woman's crushed body fall to the ground in a pool of her own blood as well as a body she couldn't identify.

"Let's go, no one's left." Gaara said coldly without remorse as he walked out the room followed by Kankurou and her younger self.

And so Temari grew to fear her little brother Gaara.

All the memories of before the massacre came flowing in lightning fast flashes back to her. She was Temari no Sabaku of the village hidden in the sand, eldest daughter of Karura and Rasa. She had two younger brothers Kankurou and Gaara and was known throughout Suna and most other villages as the sand siblings.

And her little brother was now a monster.

He is a killing sociopath who is even willing to kill his own siblings. His siblings who did everything they could to protect their little brother even if he threatened to kill them. Her father's selfish assassination act created a monster. Gaara killed because he liked it and he felt it gave meaning to his existence. She has seen him kill so many innocent people, even little children. The future did not look bright with a monster by her side. Gaara reveled in everything he killed, will this killing ever end...

Temari gasped as her eyes shot open, panic dancing across her eyes as her head pounded in pain. She panted as sweat dripped from her eyebrows. She pounded on the metal dome around her, trying to escape. She looked frantically around. Her eyes caught Ino's bent over figure and stopped pounding on the dome to look at Ino. Ino was doubled over resting her arms on the ground with her head hanging towards the ground. The headset clattered to the ground while the other shinobi removed their headset and watched Ino and Temari curiously. Sai was by Ino's side before Temari even woke up. Temari began to trash around again, never forgetting about the unbearable pain in her skull. She was blinded by her panic to get out, but she did notice a figure rushing towards her.

The dome suddenly opened and Temari shot to her feet backing away from the dome. Spots danced across her vision as she unsteadily walked away from the contraption. She didn't even notice when her legs gave in from beneath her, but she never touched the ground. She was caught by the silhouette's strong arms, the arms that made her feel safe.

"Shikamaru, you're here..." Temari said detached as her eyes couldn't focus on her surroundings.

"Of course I am." He replied worry evident in his voice as Temari slouched in his arms.

Shikamaru picked her up bridal style as her arm resting on her stomach and her other arm dangled by her side with her head tilted back. She's unconscious.

"Is Ino alright?" Shikamaru asked Sai who was bent next to her with his arms around her.

"I'm fine." Ino said in a shaky voice.

"Are you sure?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yes." Ino said sitting straight again leaning again Sai for support.

Ino caught Shikamaru's eyes. They were filled with tears and he could see the fear and distress in her horrified eyes.

"What the hell did you see?" Shikamaru asked with wide eyes and furrowed eyebrows.

"Just get Temari home." Ino said looking away as she started trembling.

"We'll talk about this later." Shikamaru scowled as he turned and walked away.

The ice cold night bit at Shikamaru's exposed skin as he entered the night air. The dark areas of the village were well lit thanks to the eerie full moon. The clouds Shikamaru looked at so often, the bright clouds he always saw but could never touch, was now dark and conflicted shrouding the village in darkness every time it covered the only source of light in such a dark night. He made it halfway to his house when the moon appeared again and illuminated Temari's golden hair and tanned skin. Her eyes opened halfway then closed again before she opened them again sleepily. Shikamaru however noticed it right away.

"Where am I?" She asked softly and confused.

"It's alright Temari you're safe, I've got you now." Shikamaru said concerned as she rested her head on his chest, exhausted.

Right before Ino and Temari woke up, Ino began trembling and grunting as if she was afraid of something or someone... Temari didn't react, but he noticed her jaw muscle tighten in fear.

"What's the last thing you remember Temari?" Shikamaru asked looking down at her.

She went slightly rigid at Shikamaru's question as it looked like sleep was going to embrace her at any time.

"Gaara..." She whispered exhausted, her voice cracking ever so slightly before she went back to sleep.

 _Gaara?_ What did he do to get Ino so rattled up? The dark clouds embraced the moon yet again, shrouding the earth in darkness. Luckily the street lights provided some light for Shikamaru as he walked through the dark streets of Konoha with Temari in his arms.

"Shika-sensei!" A cheerful voice called behind him.

Shikamaru spun around to the source of the voice. It was Mirai. This was the first time since Temari came back to the village that Mirai saw her. He didn't even think she knew Temari was back.

"Is that Temari?" Mirai gasped rushing towards Shikamaru.

"Yes." Shikamaru answered as he turned around and walked again with Mirai following him.

"Is she why you left training earlier with Sai-sensei?" Mirai gasped in realization.

"Yeah." Shikamaru replied smiling ever so slightly.

"What happened to her?" Mirai asked concerned.

"Ino is trying to get her memories back. I think it was getting to much for Temari to handle and she passed out." Shikamaru explained.

"Is it working?" Mirai asked amazed.

"Yes, but we'll see if she remembers anything when she wakes up." Shikamaru sighed.

"When did she come back?" Mirai questioned Shikamaru.

"About a week ago." Shikamaru answered nonchalantly.

"What! How come I haven't seen her once?" Mirai exclaimed shocked.

"Because she was in the hospital, she was only released today." Shikamaru replied

"How did she come back?" Mirai asked solemnly putting two and two together.

"She fought against Orochimaru and when the fighting was over we brought her back before she could die and she survived." Shikamaru sighed.

"Is he dead then?" Mirai asked sadly looking up at Shikamaru.

"I can't answer that yet." Shikamaru said narrowing his eyes ever so slightly.

"Why? He's either dead or not." Mirai said confused.

"Not exactly. Go home Mirai." Shikamaru groaned.

"No. When is your girlfriend gonna wake up?" Mirai asked with a smirk.

"When she feels like it and she's not my girlfriend." Shikamaru dead panned.

"Not yet." Mirai teased.

"Go away Mirai." Shikamaru said glaring at a laughing Mirai.

"But I know you want her to be your girlfriend." Mirai grinned slyly.

"Who said she isn't already." Shikamaru smirked catching Marai off guard.

Besides everyone knows she can make up the _wildest_ stories, if she tells anyone how can they not know she wasn't _make_ this up as well.

"What?" Mirai asked blankly standing in the middle of the road as Shikamaru opened the door awkwardly since Temari was still in his arms.

"Go home Mirai." Shikamaru said before closing the door and leaving Mirai in the street... outside... alone.

"I've gotta tell mom!" Mirai said determined to herself as she turned and ran to her house.

 _ **_**_  
 **A/N: Hello, it's me**  
 **I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to meet?** **I'm sooooooo sorry I haven't been posting chapters my lovelies. I was actually finished with this chapter, but I was too busy with other stuff and too lazy as well too update, but I'm finally back and hoping you can forgive me. I really do try to update as soon as I can. I Hope you enjoyed the chapter** **remember to comment, I put a lot of effort in every chapter. But NEVER DOUBT ME, your fantastic author signing off :P**


	12. THE GAME

_**"City lights lay out before us**_  
 _ **And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder**_  
 _ **And I had a feeling that I belonged." - Fast car Jasmine Thompson**_  
 _ **_**_

"What happened?" Temari groaned to herself as she rolled over to her other side on the comfy bed.

"You passed out." A voice said bluntly next to her.

Temari's eyes shot open in a instance as her natural instincts kicked in. She located the source of the voice and kicked as hard as she could sending the source of the voice flying of the bed.

"Dammit Temari! This is the second time you kicked me off my _own_ bed!" Shikamaru groaned from the floor clutching his ribs in pain.

"Shit Shikamaru! You scared the hell out of me." Temari exclaimed as her muscles relaxed again after she realized it was only Shikamaru.

"I should've seen that coming." Shikamaru sighed staying on the floor.

"Are you just going stay on the floor?" Temari asked confused looking over the bed at him.

"Yes, pass me a pillow troublesome woman." Shikamaru dead panned as Temari through him hard with a pillow.

"Thanks." Shikamaru said sarcastically not amused about being abused by his own pillow.

"Your welcome." Temari grinned from the bed lying on her stomach so she could see Shikamaru on the floor.

"So what do you remember from yesterday?" Shikamaru asked from the floor.

"I remember Sakura releasing me from the hospital..." Temari mused, but got interrupted by Shikamaru.

"I mean what do you remember from your past?" Shikamaru asked rolling his eyes as he rested his head on the pillow that Temari tried to kill him with when she threw it.

"It's all a little foggy, but I'm sure it'll become clearer." Temari replied vaguely.

"What do you remember about Gaara?" Shikamaru asked curiously as Temari shivered slightly.

"He's the one tail jinchuuriki." Temari replied in a guarded tone not going into detail about what she remembers.

"What's the last thing you remember from your past?" Shikamaru asked eyeing her.

"A mission with my brothers when we were kids." Temari answered not meeting Shikamaru's eyes.

Shikamaru knew it was all before the chunnin exam because she would've said something about it.

"Hey lazy ass, where's the shower?" Temari asked changing the subject.

"Like I'll tell you, you almost killed me. Besides I'm showering first, you take an hour to shower." Shikamaru scoffed.

"Well by the time you lift your lazy ass I would've found the shower and be done already." Temari glared back.

"Good luck getting to it." Shikamaru smirked amused from the ground.

Temari jumped up from the bed and walked to the door while Shikamaru slowly stood up from the ground taking his sweet time to collect his clothes. Temari smirked in satisfaction as she neared a door which she believes may be the bathroom, but just as she reached the door her body froze and no matter how much she willed her body to move it simply stayed frozen.

 _Nara..._

"I'm going to kill you!" Temari exclaimed furiously.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru sighed as he passed Temari, closed the door and locked it.

"Dammit Shikamaru!" Temari exclaimed as she banged the door when he released his jutsu.

Temari headed back to Shikamaru's room furiously while she waited for the lazy ass to stop hogging the shower. However something caught Temari's eye as she passed the mirror. She walked quickly to the mirror as she tilted her head to the right and observed her neck.

Her curse mark... It's still there.

Ino said she'd have to remove it in order to get her memories back and in full honesty, she had no problem with that what so ever. The curse marks power was just an illusion of her own strength. It made people like her dependent on Orochimaru's power and she didn't like it at all. She wanted the mark gone. She wanted Orochimaru gone.

She rubbed her fingers over the mark that haunted her for years. How come she still has it, but can remember the memories that Ino has shown her thus far. Even though it was foggy. She stared at the curse mark, luckily her clothes covered it up somewhat. She saw Shikamaru enter the room in the mirror and quickly covered the curse mark with her clothes.

"Took you long enough." Temari commented before she left the room.

"Troublesome woman." Temari heard Shikamaru sighed making Temari smirk in triumph.

Temari peeled out of her clothes making her curse mark painfully visible. She stepped in the shower under the warm running water. She closed her eyes in relieve then opened them again. How can someone shower fast if the water was this relaxing? Temari frowned and rubbed her neck uncomfortably, her curse mark was acting up.

She closed her eyes and sighed as she rested her head against the wall. Suddenly Temari gasped sharply as her eyes shot open while she grabbed her neck in pain. She backed away from the shower wall clutching her neck. She wanted to scream from pain, but she didn't want Shikamaru to get worried so she didn't scream, but she couldn't help the grunts that escaped her.

She dropped to her knees clawing her curse mark, but this time she couldn't help the scream that escaped her. She grabbed the shower handle with her left hand and pulled herself up as she still clutched her curse mark with her right hand.

"Temari! What's wrong?" Shikamaru exclaimed from the door worry evident in his voice.

Temari didn't answer. She opened the shower door with a grunt and tumbled to where her towel was.

"Temari open the door!" Shikamaru said urgently as he banged on the door.

Temari however ignored him. She grabbed the towel once she shuffled over to it and wrapped it around her body. After the towel was securely wrapped around her she continued to tumble to the door grabbing the handle with both hands as she reached it. With a grunt she opened the door and tumbled into Shikamaru's arms.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Shikamaru asked worried as he wrapped his arms around her protectively.

He had a tint of pink on his cheeks. Temari was completely naked with only a towel to cover her wet body and she didn't have a bad body either. If this happened when he was a teenager he might have died of blood loss, but he controlled himself and this wasn't a situation for that right now.

"Orochimaru." She gasped a reply.

"What about him?" Shikamaru asked with a frown.

"He's coming." She replied softly.

Shikamaru's eyes widened slightly. The Huyga's hasn't even seen him yet, but he reminded himself that Temari can feel Orochimaru's chakra when his nearby. That's the reason for her pain right now. Orochimaru's chakra.

"Please make it stop." Temari whispered, her voice quivering slightly.

She sank to the floor with Shikamaru sinking with her. He sat crossed legged on the floor with his back against the wall whole he pulled Temari on his lap. She sat with her head buried against his neck while her legs extended on his left leg to the ground.

He wrapped his one hand across her waist and the other higher so he could rub her neck which is causing her so much pain. Her arms where rapped around him as she nuzzled her head deeper in his neck.

"Should I get Sakura?" Shikamaru asked rubbing her curse mark soothingly.

"There's nothing she can do." Temari said softly the energy drained from her because of all the waves of pain that ripped through her.

They sat like that until Temari's pain subsided somewhat. He needed to tell Naruto about Temari's curse mark that acted up. That Orochimaru was indeed coming, but he didn't dare say anything to Temari. He'll hold her for as long as she wanted him to. Shikamaru closed his eyes and held Temari closer.

"Are you still in pain?" Shikamaru asked softly.

"No, but I can still feel it." Temari replied.

"We should get something to eat then I should go find Ino." Temari said life returning to her voice.

"What do you want for breakfast?" Shikamaru asked amusement in his voice.

"Surprise me. As long as you don't make it." Temari laughed in Shikamaru's neck.

"Are you saying I'm a bad cook?" Shikamaru asked in mock hurt with a raised eyebrow.

"No, but as I know you you'll probably make the least troublesome thing." Temari snorted.

"Get dressed then we'll get something at a shop, since my cooking is bad." Shikamaru smirked.

"I never said that." Temari chuckled as she stood up weakly pulling Shikamaru up with her.

Temari walked back into the bathroom feeling Shikamaru's eyes on her, but she let it go and closed the bathroom door behind her. She discarded her towel and changed into her clothes. Temari walked out of the door and went to Shikamaru's room. She saw Shikamaru sleeping on his bed while she headed to the mirror to tie her hair. This felt familiar to Temari.

"Shikamaru, wake up let's go." Temari said as she tied the last of her hair, but only silence met her statement.

She turned to look at Shikamaru. She couldn't believe someone could fall asleep so fast. It was literally impossible. Temari walked over to him and nudge him softly.

"Shikamaru." Temari said gently.

No reply.

"Shikamaru." Temari tried again this time louder.

No reply. No movement.

"Dammit Shikamaru, come on!" Temari exclaimed pulling the pillow out from underneath Shikamaru's head and hitting him with it, but he grabbed it before the pillow connected with his face and smacked Temari with it instead.

"You where awake this whole time and you didn't answer me you bastard." Temari glared at him grabbing the pillow from him.

"Yep." Shikamaru answered rolling on his back bringing his hands behind his head.

"Then why didn't you answer me?" Temari asked glaring at Shikamaru.

"Too troublesome." Shikamaru shrugged.

"I'll kill you someday, now let's go." Temari said glaring at Shikamaru while muttered something under his breath.

They went to a small tee house near the forest where Shikamaru said they would usually go to train. It was a cute quiet place and the waitress was really friendly. After that Temari went in search of Ino with Shikamaru who offered to help her find Ino.

"We should probably look for her at her family's flower shop first." Shikamaru suggested.

"Good idea, looks like you're not completely useless after all." Temari smirked following Shikamaru since she didn't know where it was.

"First I'm a bad cook and now I'm useless, troublesome woman." Shikamaru sighed exaggerated placing his hands in his pockets.

"I never said that." Temari said laughing.

They walked calmly in the morning sun towards Ino's flower shop. You could feel winter coming from afar almost like the war that dreaded closer and closer. The morning and nights where starting to drastically get colder, luckily the afternoons where still blissfully warm. They saw the flower shop rising from the distance as they came closer.

Temari smiled as she walked in front of Shikamaru to the flowers displayed outside the shop and in the display windows. Temari looked mesmerized by them and Shikamaru knew why. She didn't have to tell him she liked flowers, he already knew it. Shikamaru smiled slightly as he watched Temari observe the flowers happily. He stood behind Temari and watched her for a while before he entered the shop looking around for Ino.

"Well hello Shikamaru, what brings you here?" Ino's mother asked cheerfully, but she lost the usual happy glint in her eyes after Ino's father died.

Almost like his own mother did when she found out his father died in the war.

"Hey, I'm looking for Ino." Shikamaru answered casually.

"I'll go fetch her for you." Ino's mother smiled a close eyed smile then left.

Temari smiled examining all the different flowers from outside the shop, trusting that Shikamaru would get Ino. She liked flowers, but she can't remember since when.

"You bastard!" A woman hollered from behind Temari, making her spin around to see what was the commotion about.

"It's your fault!" The woman screeched in anger again looking Temari straight in her eyes.

Temari looked with confusion at the woman. She was panting, sweaty and carried a giant scroll on her back indicating she was probably training. She had two buns on her head and a outfit that mostly consisted of pink and white. Temari had no idea who this woman was or why she was yelling at her.

"My fault?" Temari asked confused pointing at herself.

"Who else, there's no one else here idiot." The woman roared, disdain dripping from her voice.

"What's my fault?" Temari asked with an irritated expression on her face and her and on her hip.

"You know exactly what you did and I'll never forgive you about it." The woman exclaimed grabbing her giant scroll making Temari grab her fan instinctively.

"Look lady, frankly I don't give a shit because I have no idea who you are or what you're yapping about, but don't get me wrong I'm not looking for a fight." Temari said unfurling her fan as the woman rolled open her scroll.

"You won't be that cocky once you're dead." The woman glared with intent to kill as she summoned two identical weapons.

Two sickles linked with chain. Temari closed her fan pressing her lips into a thin line as she dodged the infuriated woman's attacks. It was easy fighting someone who was angry because they couldn't think rationally. The woman back flipped back to her open scroll and summoned a variety of weapons that went flying her way.

Temari stood her ground opening her fan to its first moon as she smirked her evil side that Orochimaru taught her leaking through a bit. She waited for the right moment then let a strong controlled wind her way so she wouldn't destroy the village as well as repel her weapons small and large except one. Her wrecking ball with spikes didn't repel along with the other weapons it only kept going.

Temari folded her fan so she could use it as a club. She waited for perfect moment then jumped up and used the wrecking ball to jump further. Temari grinned maliciously as she brought her fan above her head to bring it down on the woman's head when she was the right distance. The woman summoned more of her weapons, but they fell to the ground as the woman froze.

Temari's grin grew wider, but her grin fell when a tentacle wrapped itself around her waist and took her away from the woman and to the flower shop. Temari as well as the woman scowled.

"Shikamaru..." Temari and the woman grumbled grumpily in unison.

"Tenten! You know I'm holding you responsible for cleaning up this mess before the flower shop!" Ino exclaimed glaring at _Tenten._

Shikamaru and Ino to of at the flower shop's entrance, Shikamaru with a hand sign and Ino with her hands on her hips glaring at Tenten.

"And Ino." Tenten sighed exaggerated.

"Tenten honey, you know better than picking a fight in the middle of the village." Ino said with furrowed brows.

"I don't care! You know what she did Ino!" Tenten said furiously.

"I'll kill her." Tenten added glaring at Temari.

"Calm down Tenten. You're not killing anyone." Shikamaru said calmly, but guarded ready to intervene at any moment.

Once Temari was by Shikamaru's side did he release his jutsu on Temari. She fastened her fan back on her back and stood next to Shikamaru with crossed arms watching Tenten carefully. Temari was taken aback by her actions, but she didn't let it show. Ino walked towards Tenten with sadness in her eyes.

"You guys go on ahead, I'll meet you there." Ino called to Shikamaru and Temari.

Shikamaru nodded as he walked away with Temari, releasing his jutsu on Tenten when Ino was right in front of her. Temari looked back at the woman, once Shikamaru released his jutsu Ino hugged her and the woman slumped in her arms... crying. It made Temari feel bad she was so insensitive towards her. Temari turned back and looked straight ahead with furrowed eyebrows.

"Do I know her?" Temari asked solemnly.

"Yes you do." Shikamaru answered simply.

"How do I know her and why is she so angry at me?" Temari asked looking at Shikamaru who sighed and looked forward.

"You met at the chunnin exams and you remember the huyga you killed, Neji?" Shikamaru said displaying no emotion.

"Yeah." She said guilt dripping from her voice.

"She loved him and they were a couple. I would've given it a few years for them to get married." Shikamaru said carefully.

Temari froze slightly before taking her next step as the burden of what she done hit her. It was her fault. Temari looked at the ground as they walked in silence to the interrogation headquarters. When they arrived at the shame hall as yesterday it took Ino only a few seconds to burst through the door followed by the same shinobi as yesterday.

"How's Tenten?" Temari asked not looking at Ino.

"Better than before. She's calm now." Ino smiled softly as the other Yamanaka's adjusted the headpieces on and Ino opened the contraption.

Temari sighed looking at Shikamaru slightly before she walked over to the contraption. She stepped into the machine and closed her eyes as Ino closed it, but opened them again to watch Ino fit the headpiece on her head then make a few hand signs.

"Mind possession jutsu." Ino exclaimed making the darkness return.

Temari stood in the blackness prepared for what's to come. Yesterday she didn't know what to expect and it caught her off guard. Today she's ready for what's to come. The colors of her world began painting itself Al around her until she recognized where she was.

She was in Konoha.

She didn't know why she would be at Konoha, but she knew she would eventually end up here since everyone here knew her. She didn't miss the glances she received when she walked down the street, but less people stared at her now. Temari looked around and saw a arena filled with inpatient people and she was in the middle of it. This must be her chunnin exams, but where was her opponent?

"Alright Shikamaru! You can do it!" A eager blond brat exclaimed from the waiting area catching Temari's attention.

The blond child had whiskers on his cheeks and had a orange jumpsuit on. Temari gasped in amusement as she realized that the blond kid was the leaf village current Hokage, Naruto Uzamaki. She watched Naruto slap a black haired kid on his back causing him to lose his balance and fall right into the arena.

The boy had his black hair tied in a spiky pony tail and she caught a glimpse of the Nara sign on his shoulder as he fell to the ground. Temari chuckled as she realized it was none other than Shikamaru. He was her opponent, this ought to be interesting. Temari looked at herself she didn't look one bit impressed and Shikamaru looked even less impressed as he just laid on the ground looking at the sky with a scowl.

However the crowd soon grew impatient at the lack of action and in their displeasure started throwing stuff at Shikamaru because he didn't do anything and it only deepened his scowl and irritation. He didn't look like he was planning on fighting her or even standing up soon for that matter.

"What is it? You plan on giving up too?" Kid Temari called with a smirk as she stomped her fan on the ground.

But that didn't intimidate Shikamaru he only lifted his head backwards slightly to look at Temari with an irritated scowl. The real Temari smirked and walked over to little Shikamaru. He was pretty cute as a child.

"Come on! Come on! Get up and fight, get it together Shikamaru! You gonna get going sometime this year?!" Naruto screamed from the waiting area as he bounced up and down in impatience, he sure was a annoying child.

"Well, if you don't move I will!" Kid Temari exclaimed as she ran at Shikamaru with her unopened fan in one hand.

"Hey, I didn't start the match yet." The proctor stated, but he didn't look like he was planning on stopping her.

"I forgot, this girl is a spunky one, I hate spunky." Shikamaru said bluntly with his lazy tone from the ground as he drew two kunai to his face.

Shikamaru's statement alone made Temari laugh never mind how pathetic he looked on the ground. Kid Temari roared as she jumped in the air and slammed her fan down on Shikamaru's head. Temari winched as a dust cloud formed while kid Temari smirked, pleased with herself. But her smirk soon faded when Shikamaru wasn't on the ground under her fan where he was supposed to be crushed. She lifted her head puzzled and saw Shikamaru smirking with his hands in his pockets while he was standing on the two kunai he pegged in the wall.

"It really doesn't make a whole lot different to me whether I ever become a chunnin or not, but I guess maybe I shouldn't let myself get beaten by a female." Shikamaru said lazily as kid Temari's scowl deepened while Temari glared at Shikamaru, she didn't appreciate the comment.

"So let's do it." Shikamaru said amused with a smirk as kid Temari lifted her heavy war fan.

Kid Temari roared and swung her fan at Shikamaru from point blank creating a dusk cloud as she unleashed her razor winds. Temari smirked, her kid self had to get him this time. But she was wrong. Kid Temari as well as Temari gasped when Shikamaru wasn't there and spun around to look behind kid Temari.

But there was no one. Shikamaru disappeared into the trees making kid Temari smirk. He was fast. Kid Temari opened her fan and placed it in front of her like a shield. There was a moment of silence and then...

"Go for it Shikamaru! Use your ultimate secret technique and take that bitch down!" Ino exclaimed loudly from the stands making Temari's eyebrow twitch.

"Excuse me who's the bitch here?" Temari asked rhetorically glaring at Ino who was flailing her arms around wildly in the audience, she sure was annoying.

"Yeah! Go Shikamaru!" Ino exclaimed again throwing her fist in the air.

"Give it a rest already." Temari sighed with annoyance.

"Get your but in gear! Let's go Shikamaru!" Naruto yelled from the waiting area.

Temari smirked at Naruto's comment. That's what she liked to hear and besides Shikamaru was sure taking his sweet time and kid Temari didn't look like she was planning on making the first move, which was smart. Shikamaru emerged on the far side of the arena and stood up with a smirk in the shadows. Temari scowled slightly, what is he thinking behind that stupid grin, is he mocking her? As if on cue Temari made her move.

"Ninja art: wind scythe jutsu!" Kid Temari exclaimed and swung her fan at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru grunted as her wind reached him and sliced at his skin. He raised his arms to try and shield his face from her wind. Kid Temari stood confidently in the light with her arm resting on her closed fan, but then a shadow crept his way towards Temari from the dust cloud she created. Temari gasped as her eyes widened in shock.

She scowled and back flipped away from it, but when she stopped the shadow was still chasing her. Temari could see the fear on kid Temari's face as she took a step back, but to kid Temari's relieve, it stopped millimeters from her own shadow. Kid Temari regained focus and drew a line with her fan in the ground while crouching. That was Shikamaru's limit.

"Almost got me, aren't you clever? With that shadow possession jutsu of yours you can manipulate any shadow your in." Kid Temari said mockingly as Shikamaru lowered his hands while he was also in a crouch position and starting panting.

"Like the wall shadow for instance, but there's a limit, isn't there? No matter how thin you stretch it, it will only move so far, isn't that right?" Kid Temari explained smugly.

"You got me." Shikamaru laughed half-heartedly and exhausted.

Kid Temari dominated their little game and seemed to almost control him, but as the game dragged on she began to wonder if it wasn't really Shikamaru who controlled the game in the whole and Temari knew that as soon as she saw Shikamaru's shadow creep into the hole in the ground while kid Temari was forming a plan behind her fan.

And just like that she was caught in his shadow. Temari watched the fearful kid Temari in shock, how could she have lost? This whole match was like an almost one sided game and he won the game only to give up before using his finishing move. It took only one move for him to win, but instead he gave up.

Temari gaped at him in shock, how could he have given up? He had her, he could've won…

Temari gasped as the color from her memories disappeared abruptly and she was yanked back to reality. She looked around as she regained herself. If she didn't know what to expect this would've been like yesterday where she pounded the dome to get out. Ino was also calmer than she was yesterday, but on the other hand this wasn't like the horrifying memory from before.

"Sorry I can only do one memory, but you're supposed to be somewhere anyway." Ino said taking of the headpiece while Shikamaru opened the dome for her.

He knew she didn't like being in that thing and Ino knew Temari wouldn't go to her _meeting_ if she knew who was waiting for her. She saw what Temari remembered of him.

"I'm supposed to be somewhere?" Temari said confused raising an eyebrow at Shikamaru.

"Yeah." Shikamaru answered nonchalantly as Temari stood up she was unsteady on her feet with a growing headache, but luckily it wasn't as bad as yesterday's.

"Well I've gotta go I'll see you guys later and… Good luck Temari." Ino said hesitantly as she waved goodbye and walked out the room followed by the other Yamanaka shinobi.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Temari mused softly to herself heading for the door, but her body was too unsteady and wasn't working properly which caused her to fall over.

"I've got you." Shikamaru said with his usual bored tone as he caught her.

Shikamaru took her arm and wrapped it around his neck not letting go of her hand while he wrapped his other hand around her waist. Temari stared at his face as he looked straight ahead while they walked together towards the door and away from the interrogation headquarters. Temari smiled slightly as she looked forward as well and walked in comfortable silence until Shikamaru broke the silence.

"What did you remember?" Shikamaru asked looking at her from the corner of his eyes.

"You bastard, why did you give up like that? You had me." Temari asked irritated as she glared at him, but not with so much irritation Shikamaru thought she'll have.

She was surprisingly calm and serene.

"The chunnin exams, how troublesome." Shikamaru said with a chuckle.

"Answer me." Temari said calm annoyance.

"I told you, didn't I? I had no chakra left and it didn't make a difference to me whether I became a chunnin or not." Shikamaru said with a smirk.

"You lazy ass, I hope you became a chunnin straight after the exams was done." Temari scoffed rolling her eyes.

"I did." Shikamaru sighed exaggerated.

"Serves you right." Temari smirked triumphantly.

"I told you mom!" A little girl exclaimed to Temari's right surprising both Shikamaru and Temari.

 _Mirai._

"I see darling. Hi Shikamaru, Temari." Kurenai greeted with a laugh.

"Hey Kurenai-sensei." Shikamaru greeted back while Temari just nodded.

"I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got to run and catch up with my kid before she gets into trouble. I'll see you two later." Kurenai smiled warmly and walked away quickly attempting to catch up with Mirai who ran off.

Temari walked wherever Shikamaru where leading them to, since he was helping her to walk. She couldn't remember the layout of the village anymore, but she did remember a bit more about the village from her experience at the chunnin exam.

"Are we going to Konoha's gates?" Temari asked confused.

"Yeah, do you feel fine enough to walk on your own now?" Shikamaru asked with an unreadable expression.

"I think so. Why?" Temari asked letting go of Shikamaru when he let go of her waist.

Temari sighed as she became aware of how cold it was without Shikamaru's arm wrapped around her. Her back was cold were his arm was absent now, same with her side. She wanted to take Shikamaru's arm and wrap it around herself again, but she froze as she saw the man in front of her. He stood in front of her with crossed arms and piercing eyes that seemed to make all of her senses go ice cold while her eyes widen in fear.

He was probably the only man Temari knew who could make her shiver in fear…

_  
 **A/N:** **OMG I realized I haven't posted in like over 2 months… I'm a horrible person** **Anyway feel free to comment and tell me what you think, I love chatting to you guys :P Hey guys is it weird if you bicker with a guy about how to murder someone and get away with it... :|**

 **NEVER DOUBT ME, your fantastic author signing off :P**


	13. THE SAND SIBLINGS

_**"If you ever feel alone and**_  
 _ **The glare makes me hard to find. Just know that I'm always parallel on the other side. Cause I don't wanna lose you now. I'm lookin' right at the other half of me. The vacancy that sat in my heart is a space that now you hold." - Mirrors Justin Timberlake**_  
 _ **_**_

 _Gaara..._

"What are you two doing here?" Temari asked with a nervous smile while she pretended that nothing was wrong.

Although she knew Kankurou and Gaara noticed it in an instance.

"We came for you Temari." Gaara said walking towards Temari with Kankurou next to him.

"Yeah, you had us worried sick about you." Kankurou said with a friendly, yet relieved smile.

Temari involuntarily took a step back, she didn't mean to, but it happened anyway and Gaara noticed it. Even though Gaara didn't show it he felt hurt about the gesture. He never thought that an action like that would come from his own sister. She wasn't the shame big sister he remembered. Temari backed up against Shikamaru who was blocking her path behind her.

"He's not the monster you remember anymore Temari." Shikamaru whispered in her ear with his hands in his pockets.

"A tiger doesn't simply change his stripes Shikamaru." Temari whispered back with a scowl.

"You're save Temari, trust me... Give him a chance." Shikamaru said reassuringly, but Temari didn't reply.

Temari swallowed hard as Gaara stopped right in front of her. His piercing green eyes looked straight into her teal eyes. Temari held her breath as Gaara came closer than she would've liked, then her eyes widened and she was shocked to her very core. Both Shikamaru and Kankurou stared at Gaara with shocked wide eyes while their jaws dropped.

Gaara did something he's never done before...

He closed the gap between him and Temari and for the first time ever he hugged her. Temari was speechless as she stiffened in his arms. Kankurou closed his mouth and smiled as his face softened. He walked over to Temari and Gaara and wrapped his arms around both of them as well.

The sand siblings where finally reunited again.

Shikamaru closed his mouth as well as the corner of his mouth lifted into a small smile. Gaara was really worried about her if he showed affection in public. It wasn't something he did at all.

"We missed you Temari." Kankurou chuckled as Temari smiled and relaxed in her brothers arms.

The brothers silently let go of their sister while Kankurou chuckled and Temari's usually harsh face softened.

"Let's get you guys to the Hokage, we have a few things to discuss after all." Shikamaru smirked as they all followed him.

"Why do you get to escorts us, I like the other woman more." Kankurou whined as he pouted making Temari lift an eyebrow at her little brothers comment.

It also made her woman what woman caught her little brothers attention.

"He was already here Kankurou." Gaara said calmly.

"Besides I usually escort Temari and she was here before you two arrived, so I guess I'll be escorting the sand siblings while you're here." Shikamaru sighed making Temari chuckle softly.

"Whatever, you are totally going to ignore us and escort Temari around." Kankurou scoffed as Gaara rolled his eyes.

"You got a problem with that?" Temari said with a smirk.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru sighed.

"Yeah I do. I want an escort as well, but not any escort... I want the other Kunoichi escorting me." Kankurou glared at Temari as they started bickering.

"Does my little brother have a crush?" Temari smirked with a devilish glint in her eyes.

"No, I just don't like to be ignored." Kankurou huffed crossing his arms.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Shikamaru will give you a little attention later." Temari winked at Kankurou who rolled his eyes.

"Nope, I'm pretty sure you'll have you're boyfriends undivided attention." Kankurou smirked back making Temari glare at him with a faint blush while Shikamaru sighed.

"Stop it you two, where here." Gaara said in his usual monotonic voice.

Temari immediately stopped talking, her fear of Gaara still lingering while Kankurou crossed his arms and murmured something beneath his breath making Shikamaru roll his eyes.

"Come in." Temari heard the Hokage call from inside after Gaara knocked on the door.

"Gaara, Kankurou!" Naruto called happily as he saw them enter his office.

Temari smiled slightly at Naruto as she remembered him as a kid. Who would've fought that little brat from years ago would become the seventh Hokage. Shikamaru leaned against the wall with his arms in his pockets as Temari stood near him. Gaara stood in front of Naruto's desk with Kankurou slightly behind him.

"It's good to see you again Naruto." Gaara replied.

"Yeah, same to you." Naruto grinned.

Temari was slightly confused by the fact that she was the only one in the village who seemed to fear Gaara, but she didn't let it show.

"I've arranged a room for you and Kankurou at an Inn near Shikamaru's apartment." Naruto said with a smile as he leaned back in his chair.

"Thank you and Temari?" Gaara asked calmly.

"She's staying with Shikamaru." Naruto said as all the heads in the room turned to them making both of them sigh with a sweat drop.

Both Naruto and Kankurou had a cheeky smile as they stared at them, but Gaara glared slightly at Shikamaru. He didn't look as amused as Naruto and Kankurou did and suddenly Temari realized she wasn't the only one fearing Gaara anymore.

"What are you smiling about, Hinata lives with you." Shikamaru shot back turning the attention to Naruto who avoided eye contact which made him look very suspicious

"Besides you're getting distracted Naruto." Shikamaru gulped under Gaara's glare.

"Right, on with the next point of discussion..." Naruto said getting _serious_ again.

"I, the Kazekage, as well as the whole of Suna thank the shinobi of the hidden leaf village for retrieving Temari. We owe the leaf village a great debt." Gaara said formally while Naruto nodded his head in respect.

Then it hit Temari...

"You're the Kazekage?" Temari gasped in utter surprise making everyone's head turn to her.

"Of course Temari." Kankurou answered slightly confused.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about Gaara..." Naruto said seriously intertwining his fingers and resting his head on his hands earning the rooms attention again.

"I keep forgetting about her amnesia..." Kankurou said softly to himself as he looked down at the floor then back at Naruto again.

"I know you came to take Temari back to Suna again, but I think it would be wiser to keep her here." Naruto sighed.

Temari noticed Shikamaru stiffening slightly next to her. It was weird to be in the room while they discussed her like she wasn't there. Gaara stayed silent at Naruto's comment urging him to go on.

"Ino has found a way to get Temari's memories back, but it's a slow procedure since it's so taxing on both of them. In order for Temari to remember everything she'll need to stay here for a while or you'll have to find a way to remove her curse mark." Naruto said to a calm Gaara.

"And what about the war that's coming? She's not save here." Gaara said calmly.

"I was hoping Suna would back us up, Iwagakure has massive forces after all and Temari is a strong Kunoichi she can take care of herself." Naruto replied making Temari smile slightly, she appreciated the comment.

"How can Suna help when we know nothing of this war?" Gaara asked, but Naruto had no reply.

"They are coming if that is what you're wondering." Temari said calmly as she watched Gaara turn.

"How can you be so sure?" Gaara asked raising a non-existing eyebrow.

"Because I can feel it, they're coming. If I'm correct the Huyga's will see them any time now." Temari said crossing her arms.

"Did Orochimaru tell you anything about this war?" Shikamaru asked seriously.

"No, but I always suspected that he as well as Kabuto and Minoru was hiding something from me." Temari scoffed at their names.

"Very well, Shikamaru you can take them to their inn I think we're done here." Naruto sighed.

"You go on ahead, I want to talk to Naruto privately." Gaara said as Naruto lifted his head curiously.

Shikamaru nodded his head leaving the room followed by Temari and Kankurou. Gaara and Naruto waited until they were completely gone before they continued their conversation.

"What's bugging you Gaara?" Naruto asked with concern.

"She's afraid of me." Gaara sighed without emotion as he stared at the floor.

He wasn't a man to show many emotions. He rarely showed emotions at all, but he grew used to his siblings loving him and not fearing him so every time he saw the fear in Temari's eyes it bothered him.

"Give it some time, she'll remember. If you let her stay." Naruto said leaning back in his chair.

"Even if I said she had to come back with me and Kankurou, I don't think she would've listened." Gaara sighed.

"Even to the Kazekage, her fearful brother?" Naruto said joking around.

"She's stubborn like that." Gaara said glaring at Naruto who laughed.

"You know Gaara, it's easy to save a life, but it's hard to save a soul. Believe me I know." Naruto said solemnly as he sobered up.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gaara asked.

"It means that even though we got Temari back, she's still a wild card and can still maybe be controlled by Orochimaru. Luckily Temari seems to respond good when Shikamaru is around." Naruto said with his cheeky smile again as Gaara looked up and rolled his eyes.

"Let's go eat something!" Kankurou said with a grin.

"Isn't Shikamaru supposed to take you to the inn?" Temari asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Come on Temari, I've been here a lot, I know where the inn is. Let's go grab something to eat we've got a lot of catching up to do." Kankurou smiled as he changed the direction of where the group was heading.

Kankurou was in front of their group despite Shikamaru being the escort while Temari and Shikamaru lagged behind him next to each other.

"It's been 2 years since I last saw my big sister after all." Kankurou said with a sad smile.

"It's been that long..." Temari said dazed.

Shikamaru stopped and looked as the two siblings carried on walking, but Temari stopped and looked back at him when she noticed he wasn't next to her anymore which made Kankurou stop and turn back as well.

"Aren't you coming?" Temari asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nah I don't want to intrude on your family reunion." Shikamaru said with a smirk.

"Don't be ridiculous, you're coming with us." Temari grinned as she grabbed Shikamaru's arm and dragged him with her.

"Yeah somebody's gotta pay for the food." Kankurou shrugged as they continued walking while dragging Shikamaru along.

"Is that the only reason you're dragging me along?" Shikamaru asked with a scowl already knowing the answer.

"Yep." Temari and Kankurou said in unison with a grin on their faces.

"You two are related to the Kazekage, yet you still decide to sponge of off me..." Shikamaru said grumpily.

"Don't be so stingy Shikamaru." Temari laughed with Kankurou while Shikamaru's face remained grumpy.

"Troublesome woman, I don't have any money left for myself thanks to Chouji and now I have to buy food for you two." Shikamaru scoffed as his face fell which made them laugh harder.

The three of them entered the barbecue place Shikamaru always go to with Chouji. They sat at a small table with only one seat on each side. Temari sat across Kankurou while Shikamaru sat next to both of them. They sat and talked and ordered when the waitress appeared. It wasn't long before they had food before them.

"Won't the war stop if we go to Orochimaru's hideout and kill him before his troops are here?" Kankurou asked as he ate.

"He's not there anymore. He would've changed his hideout as soon as I left and besides Orochimaru's dead. I killed him myself. The problem however is Kabuto revived him and I'm pretty sure he's plotting something behind Orochimaru's back." Temari sighed as she ate.

"How do you know Kabuto is the puppet master?" Kankurou asked curiously.

"Because I can feel Orochimaru's chakra in my curse mark plus if Kabuto wasn't planning something why bother reviving Orochimaru at all if he was naturally the next leader." Temari answered with a shrug.

"But what's his goal in all this?" Shikamaru pondered.

"I don't know... Kabuto is a mystery, but I know Orochimaru wants this place destroyed." Temari shrugged.

"Yeah, he always wanted to demolish Konoha." Shikamaru shrugged as well.

"How do you know all this Temari?" Kankurou asked surprised.

"I spent two years with them and didn't you hear little brother, I was Orochimaru's right hand man." Temari smirked with a devilish glint in her eyes.

"Well, well, well big sister who knew you could've been such a good spy." Kankurou laughed.

"Are you saying I'm a bad spy?" Temari asked glaring at Kankurou.

"Don't put words in my mouth." Kankurou said quickly.

"You're better at demolishing things." Shikamaru mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?" Temari asked turning her fury to Shikamaru as she glared at him.

"Just noting how good this food is, right Kankurou?" Shikamaru laughed nervously as he tried to avert her attention back to Kankurou.

"Good indeed Shikamaru." Kankurou said laughing nervously as well as he backed the guy up.

Temari's face softened as she began laughing at them. She was glad she wasn't living at Orochimaru's hideout anymore.

Temari suddenly tensed as her laughing ceased abruptly. Shikamaru and Kankurou looked quizzically at Temari as they noted her sudden change in behavior. She looked with wide eyes at nothing in particular, not aware of her surroundings anymore. She looked deep in thought as her brows furrowed together.

"Hey Temari, what's wrong?" Kankurou asked concerned.

Temari didn't answer or even seem to hear him. She dropped the chopsticks she was holding and stood abruptly up and walked out the restaurant making Shikamaru scowl.

"You're paying lazy bum." Kankurou said quickly as he jumped up and went after Temari.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru grunted as he quickly headed to the woman at the till to pay for the food.

Shikamaru hurried over to Temari and Kankurou. Temari's face was painted with pain while Kankurou tried to find out what was wrong. He didn't know what to do or what was wrong however Shikamaru did. Shikamaru walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her neck while he slightly rubbed her curse mark, shocking Temari back into reality.

"How far?" Shikamaru said softly as he lowered his head slightly to talk into her ear.

"Practically on us." Temari replied softly tilting her head slightly towards Shikamaru.

"Kankurou is going to take you home, I'll be back soon." Shikamaru said with a sigh.

Temari nodded while Shikamaru held her a little tighter before he reluctantly released her. Shikamaru jumped to the roofs and dashed to Naruto's office leaving Temari with Kankurou. He looked back at Temari and for a moment their eyes locked, until Kankurou said something and she looked away.

Shikamaru looked back in front of him and made his way to Naruto's office. Shikamaru knocked on Naruto's office door and walked into his office without waiting for an answer. When Shikamaru entered Gaara wasn't there anymore.

"Shikamaru, what're you doing here? Came to do my paperwork." Naruto said slyly as Shikamaru stood before him.

"They're here Naruto. Orochimaru's here." Shikamaru said seriously as the atmosphere grew darker in the room.

"Dammit." Naruto scowled.

Just then Hinata ran into the room.

"We've detected a large army heading this way with Orochimaru and Kabuto leading it!" Hinata exclaimed panting as she stopped next to Shikamaru.

"Thank you Hinata." Naruto said his eyes softening automatic as he saw her.

"What do we do know?" Hinata asked worry evident in her voice.

"We have no choice, but to fight back. Shikamaru fetch Gaara." Naruto said grimly as he stood up and walked towards his window.

"Hinata sound the alarm. **Al** l shinobi are to gather at the Hokage building. I will not let Orochimaru destroy this village." Naruto said as seriously as he ever was before in his life.

"Right away." Shikamaru and Hinata said before they hurried out the room and to their designated locations leaving him to stare out the window as he watched the sun setting over the horizon.

Shikamaru made his way to the inn the sand siblings occupied while they were staying in the leaf village. As the sun started to set an ominous feeling started to brew over the leaf village as the oncoming war dreaded nearer.

Shikamaru entered the inn and went straight to the sand sibling's room. He already knew which room they were staying at, he was the Hokage's adviser after all. Almost all of the things Naruto did and planned Shikamaru knew about.

Shikamaru knocked on the door and waited patiently for someone to answer the door and finally Kankurou answered the door.

"Can I come in?" Shikamaru asked Kankurou who blocked his path with a raised eyebrow.

"Sure." Kankurou said moving out the way so Shikamaru could enter, but Shikamaru noted the tension in his voice.

"How's Temari?" Shikamaru asked as he entered the room.

"She's been screaming in pain ever since we got to the inn, but she fell asleep a while ago from exhaustion. She's in the room down the hall." Kankurou said worryingly.

"Is Gaara there as well?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yeah." Kankurou answered.

"Kankurou I know this isn't what you want to hear, but you can't leave Temari alone with Gaara. She's afraid of him. Try and see this from her perspective. The last thing she remembers of Gaara is the monster he was before and during the Chunnin exams. She remembers him killing everyone that came across your paths with a smile." Shikamaru said reluctantly with a sigh as he stuffed his hands in his pockets in frustration.

He hated the situation they were in. He hated the fact that Temari forgot everything and he dreaded the war that came. Temari hasn't even fully regained her memories yet. They just never seemed to get a break. It was unnecessary and it will only cause death and sadness. Kankurou scowled at Shikamaru's words, but didn't say anything. What was there to say anyway?

Almost like Gaara knew they were talking about him he slowly entered the room Shikamaru was in. Luckily he didn't hear what Shikamaru said.

"Shikamaru?" Gaara said making his presence known as both the men turned their heads to him.

"For the reason why I'm here, the Hokage wishes for your presence immediately." Shikamaru said formally as he addressed the Kazekage.

"Why? I was there just now." Gaara asked with a raised eyebrow and crossed arms.

"We've detected large troops we believe are Iwagakure and two men we believe to be Kabuto and Orochimaru leading them. The war has come." Shikamaru said gravely as the atmosphere grew tense.

"I hoped that it wouldn't have come to this." Gaara sighed as he walked to the door just as a bell like siren begun to rang, signaling that the shinobi must gather at the Hokage building.

Shikamaru wondered slightly why Hinata took so long to ring the bell. His destination was further than hers and they left at the same time yet he was still there before Hinata rang the bell.

"What does that bell mean?" Kankurou asked tensing.

"It means all the shinobi are to gather at the Hokage building. So I would advise you to accompany the Kazekage to the Hokage building." Shikamaru answered looking at Kankurou.

"Right." Kankurou said with a nod of his head as he and Gaara walked to the door.

"Are you coming Shikamaru?" Gaara asked stopping as he turned around to question Shikamaru.

"I'll be right there, go on ahead without me." Shikamaru said looking at the direction of Temari's room.

"Very well, but hurry Konoha is going to need its key strategist and adviser." Gaara said as he and Kankurou hurried towards the Hokage building.

Shikamaru walked to Temari room as Gaara closed the door. He opened the door to Temari's room and stood in the room watching her sleep. Even though she was asleep he could still see the pain on her face and the sweat drops that formed on her face.

Shikamaru crouched in front of Temari so he was eye level with her. He hated not being able to do something to relieve her pain. Shikamaru stretched out his hand and stroke her curse mark gently. He knew it soothed her somewhat. Temari's face softened slightly and she seemed to have forgotten about the pain as her eyes opened slowly halfway.

"You're back." She said sleepily as her eyes closed again.

"Yeah, but I have to go again." Shikamaru said reluctantly.

"Why?" Temari asked not opening her eyes.

"We've detected Orochimaru's army." Shikamaru sighed.

"Gaara and Kankurou has to go as well, will you be okay here alone?" Shikamaru asked worryingly.

"I'll be fine, I'm a grown woman I can take care of myself." Temari chuckled her eyes opening slightly.

"Come find me when you wake up again, I'll be at the Hokage building with your brothers." Shikamaru said as he kissed her forehead softly and stood up.

"Will do lazy ass." Temari smiled as she closed her eyes again and went back to sleep.

Shikamaru looked at her for a last time before he exited the room and closed the doors behind him. He quickly dashed towards the Hokage building where he could see all the leaf village's ninjas gathering. Some villagers stood outside to watch the spectacle, but were confused as to what was going on.

After all only a hand few of ninjas new about the war and most of them consisted of the Konoha 12 and the Hyuga who kept watch. Shikamaru slowed down as he neared the Hokage building. Shikamaru walked on the roof and scanned the group of shinobi until his eyes caught sight of someone he didn't expect to be here. Shikamaru jumped of the roof and made his way to the black haired woman.

"Kurenai-sensei what are you doing here?" Shikamaru exclaimed making her turn around.

"I want to know what's going on. I'm not leaving my baby here alone." Kurenai said worryingly.

"Mirai's a ninja now she'll be okay." Shikamaru said reassuringly.

"But she's still just a gennin!" Kurenai exclaimed.

"And top of her class. Don't worry she'll be okay and I'll keep her safe. I promised Asuma." Shikamaru smiled reassuringly as Kurenai smiled back hesitantly.

"Okay, but I'm here to help with whatever is going on if you need me to." Kurenai said.

"Thanks." Shikamaru replied before he left and jumped up to the roof of the Hokage building.

He jumped up until he landed on the roof of the Hokage building. He walked toward the group on the roof. The group consisted of Naruto, Gaara, Kankurou and Hinata.

"What took you so long?" Naruto exclaimed at Shikamaru.

"I got held up." Shikamaru shrugged with his hands in his pockets making Naruto and Kankurou grumble something at each other and Hinata whacking Naruto softly on the arm to make him focus again.

"I'm guessing you have a plan Shikamaru?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes I do. How does it look Hinata?" Shikamaru asked looking at Hinata.

"Their troops are splitting up. It almost looks like their trying to surround the village, but their biggest force is to the north. I assume that's their main force." Hinata answered.

"Very well, is Suna helping us in this war Kazekage?" Shikamaru asked turning his attention to Gaara.

"Yes, I've send a sand message to Baki. Suna's forces should be here in three days." Gaara said seriously.

"Alright. Well hold our own until Suna arrives that'll attack the enemy from behind." Shikamaru said.

"Like a surprise attack?" Naruto asked a hint of excitement in his voice.

"I'll hardly call it a surprise attack. Orochimaru will notice the troops coming before they reach Konoha." Shikamaru said as Naruto nodded.

"Well divide our shinobi between gennin, chunnin and jonnin and this shinobi will be divided into four so we can cover the North, East, South and West sides of the village. The gennin will patrol the streets and keep the villagers safe and if necessary they'll evacuate the villagers to the underground tunnels.

The chunnin and jonnin will be mixed. The long ranged fighters will man the walls while the short range fighters will hide in the forest and attack the enemy from above. We've got home ground advantage. We'll also have to work on shifts otherwise our shinobi's will get too tired to fight. Some of the Yamanaka's will take scoffs and stay at the headquarters to survey our situation while the rest can gather information about the enemy as well as fight." Shikamaru explained as everyone nodded.

Shikamaru went into finer detail as he explained where certain shinobi should be placed.

"Okay I've got it." Naruto said as he nodded seriously.

"All the trees are going to get destroyed." Hinata said sadly looking at the ground.

"Can't we get Yamamoto to stash them underground or something?" Naruto asked placing a hand on Hinata's shoulder to comfort her.

"No, they'll die of a lack of sunlight plus Yamamoto is almost retired." Shikamaru shrugged.

Naruto sighed as he let go of Hinata who blushed slightly while he walked towards the end of the roof with his Hokage hat and cape that fluttered in the wind. Naruto's voice boomed over the village as he addressed their army of shinobi,but Konoha was still severely outnumbered.

In the end his gennin team, Mirai, Ruth and Akira, got placed in the south side of the village with Kurenai helping out there and leading the gennin. Yamamoto, Sasuke and Sakura got placed north. The Akimichi's got divided into equal numbers on each side with Chouji in the west as well as Sai. The Hyuga as well as the rest of the ninja clans also got divided. Hinata, Kiba and Shino got placed on the south side and Tenten and Lee in the east.

Kankurou got placed to fight in the east while Gaara and Naruto would stay in the headquarters to manage the war, they were Kages after all. Shikamaru and Ino would also stay in the headquarters since Shikamaru was the strategist and Ino would monitor everything and communicate with the shinobi.

They decided that when Temari was fit to fight and her curse mark wasn't causing her pain she'll be fighting in the west and Kankurou in the east. Therefore Tenten won't try to kill her and Shikamaru could worry less because he knew Chouji had her back.

"...everyone get a good night's sleep and as soon as the sun rises tomorrow be on guard and on your posts and ready for a war. Dismissed." Naruto said as he was finally done explaining.

Everyone sighed as Naruto walked back to the group on the roof with Ino and Sakura joining them this time.

"Shouldn't I be manning the hospital?" Sakura asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, lady Tsunade and Shizune agreed to work in the hospital during the war even though lady Tsunade is retired. We need your destructive power the first day. After that join the medical nin in the field." Shikamaru said as Sakura nodded then walked away.

"How about me? Where do I fight?" Temari asked smugly with her hands in her hips making everyone's head snap to her.

Shikamaru smiled at her presence. He was glad she wasn't in pain anymore.

"You're fighting in the west when you're fit to fight." Gaara answered.

"Fit to fight?" Temari asked with a raised eyebrow as she walked over to the group.

"Meaning your curse mark isn't causing you pain troublesome woman." Shikamaru said smirking at Temari who stood next to him and glared at him slightly for being called troublesome.

"We need to set up a headquarters for tomorrow." Ino said.

"We can use my office." Naruto said.

"We're heading back to the inn, we'll see you in the morning." Gaara said bowing his head before he and Kankurou left.

"You coming Temari?" Kankurou asked looking back.

"No, I think I'll help them first." Temari smiled as Kankurou and Gaara smiled before walking away.

"Alright, let's get to it then!" Naruto exclaimed as he grinned at Hinata.

Ino sighed as they walked to Naruto's office. She felt like a third feel because Naruto was talking excitedly to Hinata about who knows what while she listened to him with a smile while Shikamaru and Temari walked together silently with ever so slightly smiles. She wished Sai was here then she wouldn't be the only lonely person there...

Suddenly Hinata's smile fell and her eyes widened. She held aa hand too her mouth as she sprinted away to the nearest object she could throw up in. Naruto quickly recovered from his shock and ran over to Hinata. He held her hair back while she threw up in the dustbin on the roof while rubbing her back soothingly. Worry evident on his face. The rest of the group also jogged to them worried about Hinata.

"What's wrong Hinata, are you sick?" Naruto asked holding her shoulders as she finally stopped throwing up and stood to her full height.

"I'm fine Naruto, I'm sure it's just a stomach bug or something I ate in the morning." Hinata smiled at Naruto trying to reassure him, but you could still see the nausea lingering on her face.

"If you say so, but I'm taking you to Sakura immediately." Naruto said with furrowed eyebrows as Hinata nodded.

"I'll be back, I'll just drop Hinata of at Sakura's place." Naruto said as he wrapped an arm around Hinata's shoulders and led her away to Sakura.

"Poor Hinata, I hope she's okay." Ino said worryingly as they walked to Naruto's office to prepare for the upcoming war.

 _ **_**_  
 **A/N: Hey guys! I'm super hyped! I competed in a dance competition and did 7 dances. I received 5 A+++ and 2 A++ plus I got a trophy for best stage personality So I'm in a happy mood. Also I feel so insulted because every Zodiac stuff says I'm arrogant… I'm not that arrogant. Please COMMENT I love talking to you guys… But NEVER DOUBT ME your fantastic author signing off :P**


	14. DELICATE CONDITIONS

_**"Makes me feel like I can't live without you. Yeah, it takes me all the way. I want you to stay." - Stay Rihanna**_  
 _ **_**_  
After Naruto dropped Hinata off he returned to help everyone set up for the war and after they had everything ready they went home while Naruto went back to Sakura to pick Hinata up. He didn't want her to be alone if she was sick.

Temari left with Shikamaru and they went to his house. They agreed that she'll sleep on the bed and he'll sleep on the couch, after some bickering and teasing of course. However Temari couldn't fall asleep, something was bothering her and she didn't know what. Maybe it was the war that was coming that bothered her because where there was war there was death and death always led to pain. She tossed around in bed nervously until she finally managed to calm her nerves somewhat and fall asleep.

The moon was almost full and it lit the sky up brilliantly as the stars danced across the sky, but as the cool breeze came it brought ominous black clouds with it. Yet the night was eerily peaceful, until a scream broke the silence of the night.

"What's wrong?!" Shikamaru asked alerted as he rushed into the room looking around until his eyes fell on Temari.

It was one of those rare moments when her hair hung loose and wasn't tied up in four ponytails. She sat up and panted with wide eyes, as though something was hunting her. She wore short purple pants with one of Shikamaru's shirt which was too big for her.

The shirt was so long you couldn't see the lavender shorts she was wearing. Her golden dirty blond hair hung over her frightened face. Shikamaru noticed it was longer than it usually was, but it was still beautiful. Just like her teal eyes that haunted him when she was gone.

Temari lifted her head and her mesmerizing teal eyes met his warm brown ones making her relax again when she saw Shikamaru entered the room. She groaned and fell back on the bed not answering Shikamaru's question making him chuckle.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Shikamaru asked as he walked over to the bed.

"Yes." Temari sighed closing her eyes.

"About what?" Shikamaru asked as he lay down on his bed next to her.

"The times I was back with Orochimaru... What are you doing?" Temari asked opening her eyes with a raised eyebrow as she turned to her side to look at Shikamaru while he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I got tired of the couch." Shikamaru smirked making her roll her eyes.

"Whatever." Temari replied as she rolled her eyes and turn on her other side while Shikamaru pulled her closer to him.

"You know you got nightmares just before you disappeared as well." Shikamaru said as his fingers crawled under his shirt she was wearing and ran his fingers over her bare skin on her waist.

"Maybe it means something." Temari said sarcastically.

"Don't jinx it." Shikamaru replied.

"There's a war coming bad things are going to happen, like it or not." Temari sighed.

"Fate can't be that cruel. I'm not letting you go again." Shikamaru said starting to draw circles on her skin.

"Don't bet on it yet." Temari said.

"Go to sleep troublesome woman." Shikamaru said still drawing circles on her skin.

"I should be telling that to you lazy ass." Temari laughed, his cool fingers tickling her warm skin.

"I missed you Temari." Shikamaru said as his fingers stilled and he pulled her even closer.

"I know." Temari replied softly as her hand found his and she intertwined her fingers with his while his cool hand still rested on her warm skin.

The silence of the night returned, but a little less ominous than before and it wasn't long before Temari and Shikamaru fell asleep in each other's arms.

The next morning both of them woke up to an evil sound. The sound of an alarm clock. They both groaned while Temari pulled the pillow over her head while Shikamaru took his pillow and smacked the alarm clock with it, but it didn't work it only muffled the sound.

Temari said something, but Shikamaru couldn't hear what due to the pillow that covered her head. Shikamaru took the pillow of Temari's face and placed it under his head as he turned on his back.

"What did you say?" Shikamaru asked still half asleep.

"I said we need to stand up and get ready." Temari answered as she turned to her other side and used Shikamaru's arm as a pillow.

Shikamaru didn't answer he only groaned his disagreement.

"Come on lazy ass, get up." Temari said still laying in his arms as she smacked his bare chest.

"I don't see you attempting to get up." Shikamaru smirked at Temari who scowled at him.

"Because you're not getting up." Temari said glaring at him.

"Okay we'll both get up in five minutes, deal." Temari sighed tilting her head to look at Shikamaru.

"Fine." Shikamaru sighed as they both went back to sleep again.

They slept again until Temari's eyes suddenly shot open and she gasped. She wiggled herself out if Shikamaru's grip and climbed over him to smack the pillow of the alarm clock to see the time. They overslept. They had 5 minutes to get to the headquarters.

"Shit!" Temari scowled.

"Wake up Shikamaru! We have to go now." Temari exclaimed as she climbed of Shikamaru and jumped of the bed while she shook Shikamaru who groaned his protest.

"We have five minutes to get there!" Temari exclaimed making Shikamaru's eyes shot open.

"Dammit." Shikamaru scowled as he jumped out of the bed.

He knew the consequences of them being late. They ran through the house to get ready and passed each other the stuff they needed as they ran through the house. Finally they dashed out the apartment and to the headquarters. They made good time but they were still 20 minutes late.

"What took you two so long?" Naruto asked as they ran through the door making everyone stare at them.

"My alarm clock broke." Temari said collecting herself as Gaara raised an eyebrow.

"Mine as well." Shikamaru said walking to the map of the layout of the war as if nothing happened.

"Temari didn't sleep at the inn yesterday night." Kankurou commented bluntly as he walked past them with a stack papers making Temari's eyes widen.

"Yes! I win the betting pool again!" Naruto exclaimed victoriously making Ino huff and cross her arms in annoyance.

"This is not fair, why does Naruto keep winning?" Ino whined.

"Because I'm awesome." Naruto said grinning.

"Come on Naruto, again. This is getting old." Shikamaru sighed glaring at Naruto.

"What betting pool?" Temari asked glaring at Naruto and Shikamaru.

"Never mind." Shikamaru sighed.

"Yeah I'm with Ino, this isn't fair." Kankurou said annoyed.

"You betted?" Gaara asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't play coy little Bro, you betted as well." Kankurou grinned at Gaara making Shikamaru's eye twitch.

 _Even Gaara betted, why?_

"What's the status of the war?" Shikamaru asked as he sighed exaggerated trying to change the topic.

"They're still stationary. The troops have gotten into position, but they're not doing anything they're just waiting." Ino answered Shikamaru as she looked at the giant water bubble in the room.

"What are they waiting for?" Shikamaru asked with a raised eyebrow.

"We don't know. It's almost like they're waiting for us to make the first move." Ino said looking back at Shikamaru.

Just as Shikamaru wanted to reply Hinata came in making Naruto's face light up.

"Hey Hinata, what are you doing here aren't you supposed to be at your post?" Naruto asked calmly with a warm smile as she walked to his desk.

"About that... Naruto, can I talk to you privately?" Hinata asked softly, nervousness evident in her voice as she avoided eye contact with everyone.

"Sure." Naruto smiled as he stood up and left with Hinata, closing the office door behind him.

"Wonder what that's about?" Shikamaru asked eyeing the door curiously as well as Ino, Gaara, Temari and Kankurou.

"We need to get to our posts soon Temari." Kankurou said as they were busy filing some paperwork for Gaara.

"Yeah, we'll go as soon as we're done." Temari said focused.

"What! You~" Everyone heard Naruto scream, but something muffled his sentence at the end.

Probably Hinata covering his loud mouth. Everyone's head turned to the door curiously.

"Now I'm curious." Temari said as she and Kankurou finished filing and watched the door with narrowed eyes.

Most of the people went back to work except for Temari, Ino, Kankurou, Gaara and Shikamaru who watched the door. It was calm behind the door for a while, until...

"You're PREGNANT!" Naruto exclaimed again making everyone's head turn in shock towards the door.

Ino spit out the water she was drinking. Kankurou fell of the chair he was sitting on. Shikamaru dropped the pen he was holding while Gaara and Temari's eyes widened.

"What?" Temari stuttered out in utter shock as she remembered the shy timid girl from the Chunnin exams.

Everyone would've face palmed, but they were to shocked to even speak. They gaped at the door as it slowly opened and Hinata entered with Naruto in a completely silent room.

"Why is everyone staring at us?" Naruto asked scratching his head pretending nothing happened while Hinata was as red as a tomato.

"Are you really that big of an idiot?" Shikamaru dead panned.

"How did that happen?" Ino asked still in shock staring at Hinata and Naruto.

"Well you see~" Naruto started, but Ino through her glass at him which he caught but left him wet.

"I know how it happens you moron! I don't want to hear _ho_ w it happened." Ino exclaimed pointing at them.

"This is the worst time to impregnate someone Naruto." Kankurou said with a sigh.

"It's not my fault, it just happened." Naruto exclaimed defensively making Temari, Shikamaru, Ino and Kankurou face palm.

"Let's just change the subject please!" Hinata who was silent up until now said still as red as a tomato.

"Well this changes things." Temari said as everybody slowly came over their shock and carried on working.

"Yes it does, Hinata you'll have to stay here because if this came out the enemy can use this as an opportunity to hurt Naruto. You'll become a target since your carrying the Hokage's child. That's why nobody in this room is going to say anything about it~" Shikamaru said seriously, but Naruto raised his hand.

"Yes Naruto?" Shikamaru said.

"What about Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi-sensei, grandma Tsunade, Sai, Chouji, Tenten, Lee, Kiba, Shino and Konohamaru?" Naruto asked naming everyone up.

"Poor Hinata, everyone is going to know about this pregnancy at the end of the day." Ino sighed.

"Sakura already knows she's the one who diagnosed me." Hinata said timidly.

"Fine Naruto you can tell them, but the less people know the better. That way it won't leak out easier." Shikamaru said with a sigh.

"Kankurou go to the south if there is any problems in the east however I'm moving you back. Hinata you can do paperwork or help with something here in the headquarters. Temari stay in the west." Shikamaru said as he adjusted his strategies.

"Right, let's go Kankurou." Temari said as they walked towards the door.

"Congratulations Hinata." Temari said as she and Kankurou smiled at Hinata who smiled back.

Temari and Kankurou split up when they exited the building to go to their designated posts.

"Temari! You're fighting here too?" Chouji exclaimed excitedly as he saw her approach.

"Yeah, you're Chouji right?" Temari asked with a smile as she walked next to him.

"That's me." He grinned munching on his chips.

"Sorry I tried to kill you." Temari said awkwardly as she looked away.

"No hard feelings. I'm sure you wouldn't have tried if we didn't get in your way." Chouji smiled making Temari chuckle.

"I'm glad you're back, Temari." Ino's boyfriend said as he approached them on the wall as well.

"Hey, you're Ino's boyfriend. I never caught your name though and you weren't at the Chunnin exams..." Temari said frowning at him as he smiled, but even though he was smiling he still looked unemotional.

Like Gaara.

"Yes, my name is Sai. I was a member of Root." Sai said smiling.

"Root?" Temari asked confused.

"You don't remember it yet. It was like Anbu or something just under Donzo's command. Shady bunch they were, no offence Sai." Choli said explaining.

"None taken." Sai replied chuckling.

"Who's Donzo?" Temari asked with a raised eyebrow.

"He was some shady guy who planted Sharingan's in his arm, kind of creepy if you ask me, but you could say he was the reason Sasuke's clan got massacred. He also tried to take over the role of Hokage and succeeded until Sasuke killed him and fifth Hokage woke up. However he was in the running to become the fourth Hokage, but lost to Hiruzen Sarutobi, Asuma-sensei's father, so he run an organization in the shadows." Chouji said as Sai nodded.

"At least I know who Sasuke is, is he still so gloomy and depressed?" Temari laughed.

"Nah, but he's still the silent type. You'll see what I mean." Chouji shrugged.

"But who's Asuma, isn't he supposed to be Hokage or something since his father was Hokage?" Temari asked confused.

"The Hokage gig wasn't really his thing. He was our teams Sensei and he's Mirai's father. However Hidan killed him." Chouji said sadly.

Temari gasped that's why she has never seen the poor child's father, he was killed. Temari remembered the members of Chouji's team from the Chunnin exams. Poor Shikamaru.

"Hidan the immortal ninja from Yugakure. S-class missing nin." Temari recited from memory.

"You know him?" Chouji asked surprised.

"Yeah, Orochimaru did teach me a thing or two." Temari smirked.

"I wonder where he's now though, he disappeared right before the fourth great shinobi war." Temari mused.

"Hidan couldn't be killed so Shikamaru tore him to pieces and buried him in a hole. He's still rotting there." Chouji said his munching ceased.

"He's not exaggerating." Sai added.

Temari gaped at them, she never thought Shikamaru was capable of something like that.

"Shikamaru is dangerous when he has a vendetta against someone. Hidan is proof of that." Chouji said munching on his chips again.

Temari was speechless.

"When Asuma-sensei died he passed down his Chakra blades to Shikamaru, but Shikamaru gave them to Mirai when she graduated the academy. Now that I think about it, you were in the village around the time of Asuma-sensei's funeral. I remember you smacking Shikamaru's smoking habit out of him. I pitied the guy so much that time." Chouji laughed as Temari's eyes widened.

"Shikamaru had a smoking habit?" Temari asked surprised, but amused.

"Yes he did, what's the last thing you remember?" Sai asked curiously.

"The Chunnin exams." Temari smiled leaning on her unopened fan.

"Ah I remember. That event triggered a lot of good things." Chouji said fondly.

"Quite an optimist, aren't you?" Temari said with a raised eyebrow.

"That's where your relationship with Shikamaru started." Chouji smiled making Temari blush slightly and look away hoping nobody noticed.

"How long do you think we'll wait until they attack?" Temari asked changing the subject while she looked at the horizon covered trees.

"I don't know, I thought they would've attacked by now." Chouji said seriously.

"Me too." Sai said his smile falling.

"Somehow this doesn't surprise me. They're up to something." Temari said solemnly narrowing her eyes at the horizon earning Sai and Chouji's attention.

"What do you mean?" Chouji asked.

"When I was still at Orochimaru's hideout he often plotted against Shikamaru, he wasn't worried about the rest as much. He was mostly worried about Shikamaru, Naruto and Sasuke." Temari mused.

"Well Shikamaru is a brilliant strategist, Naruto is a Junchiruki and the Hokage and Sasuke was his vessel." Chouji shrugged.

"Was his vessel?" Temari asked with a raised eyebrow, Orochimaru never told her this.

He always said Sasuke was the one that got away.

"Orochimaru tried to possess him, but Sasuke overwhelmed him and kicked him out." Sai said.

"That's really interesting. Come to think of it what he's doing now is familiar." Temari frowned then suddenly gasped as her eyes widened.

"What is it?" Chouji asked.

"Cut of the head of the snake and the body dies... He already made his first move" Temari said as she scowled.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Chouji asked confused.

"He's going to kill Shikamaru then Naruto and probably Gaara after that as well." Temari said scowling.

"I need to warm them, stay alert there are probably sound ninja that already infiltrated the leaf village." Temari exclaimed as she jumped of the wall and dash towards the headquarters.

It was already noon. She could already be to late. Temari dashed through the village and suddenly she felt a chakra presence, but only for a split second before it disappeared. Temari grabbed her fan and spun around using it as a shield in front of her as senbons bounced of her fan. If she dodged the senbons the citizens would've been it.

"Run and get to safety!" Temari roared at the citizens who screamed and ran away frantically.

Temari closed her fan and used it as a club to whack the sound ninja's head, but he dodged and made hand signs however Temari stretched out her arm allowing her arm to turn to snakes which bit the guys arms and legs and kept him at bay. She lifted him up and brought him down hard on the floor head first rendering him unconscious.

"Hey you!" Temari yelled pointing at a gennin who watched her his mouth agape.

"Take this guy to your village's prison or something." Temari said as the gennin nodded and she continued her desperate dash.

She sprinted to the Hokage's office and grabbed a kunai from her ninja pouch. She kicked opened the door and looked around frantically as everyone watched her in shocked, except one man who held 3 senbons in his hand and his appearance started changing.

The man hovered in the back of the room drawing no attention to himself. Before the man could react to Temari's sudden presence she threw the kunai in her hand making it wiz past Ino and Shikamaru's face and peg into the sound shinobi's neck cutting of his oxygen supply.

"Temari! What are you doing?" Ino yelled as they watched the dead man on the floor.

"He's a sound ninja and he almost killed you Shikamaru." Temari said panting as she started relaxing again.

Hinata walked over to the dead man and examined him.

"She's right, he's a sound shinobi." Hinata confirmed as she walked back over to Naruto.

"How did you know he'll be here Temari?" Shikamaru asked confused.

"I was talking with Orochimaru about war a year ago and this was a strategy he mentioned." Temari said as she walked into the room.

"How can you still remember it?" Ino asked surprised.

"Because I thought it was smart." Temari sighed.

"What strategy was that?" Shikamaru asked with a frown.

"He called it something like a snake strategy, I can't remember. But he said to win you had to cut off the head of the snake then the body automatically dies. You, Naruto and Gaara is that snakes head." Temari said pointing at them.

"You think of all the strategies and Orochimaru doesn't like that you pose a challenge to him, that's why he wants you gone first. My theory was correct when I got attacked on my way here." Temari said sitting down in a chair near the map of the village and forest.

"Dammit that was too close." Naruto scowled.

"If there was a spy in our midst without us even realizing it we can safely assume Orochimaru knows of your pregnancy Hinata." Gaara said making Naruto wrap an arm around Hinata protectively.

"That means not only are Shikamaru, Naruto and Gaara targets, but you're a target as well Hinata." Temari said scowling.

"How long will this go on?" Naruto asked angrily.

"Until the sun rises tomorrow morning, but after that he'll stop attacking in the night because the shinobi needs to sleep." Temari said darkly.

"We'll have to stay on guard the whole time then." Naruto said tightening his grip on Hinata.

"That means we can do a memory session Temari if he's only going to start attacking tomorrow." Ino grinned making them look at her.

"I don't think that's a good idea Ino." Shikamaru said.

"Me neither." Gaara agreed.

"Come on, what's the worst that can happen." Ino laughed grabbing Temari's arm and pulling her of the chair.

"I'm afraid to answer that." Shikamaru dead panned.

"You're being paranoid." She said pulling Temari along.

"It's a war Ino, of course I'm paranoid." Shikamaru scowled at her, but she left.

"We should get someone to guard them, they're helpless in that thing." Shikamaru scowled turning to Naruto.

"I agree, but we have limited resources so I can only spare a team of Jonin." Naruto sighed rubbing his templates.

"Contact team 5 and tell them to guard Ino and Temari." Naruto said to a Yamanaka who nodded.

Shikamaru had a bad feeling about this. This was going to be a long day and night.

"What are we going to do about tonight?" Naruto asked.

"There's nothing we can do. We can't locate them so we'll have to stay up all night." Shikamaru sighed, he already craved sleep.

"We can take turns sleeping, except Hinata you can sleep since you're not allowed to fight. I can stay the night at Naruto and Hinata's home and Temari is already staying with Shikamaru." Gaara said with crossed arms.

"What about Kankurou?" Shikamaru said.

"I doubt he'll be targeted, but he can go to either one's home and help." Gaara said.

"Let him go to Naruto's house. We have to be careful with Hinata being pregnant." Shikamaru sighed as Hinata looked at the ground, but Naruto whispered something to her that made her smile.

However Shikamaru felt depressed over the sleep he's going to be losing.

"Then it's settled then." Gaara said with a nod.

It's been about two hours since Temari and Ino left and Shikamaru was now sitting at Naruto's desk devising strategies with Naruto and Gaara. Orochimaru hasn't made another move yet since Temari broke down Naruto's doors, but it made him worry even more.

He was certain something bad is going to happen in the next hour or so and Temari was alone with Ino and three Jonin who guarded them. Even though there were three Jonin guarding them he felt uneasy. He trusted his village's shinobi's strength, but he would've felt better if one of the Konoha 12 where there, like Chouji, and wasn't immobilized.

And just like his bad feeling predicted, something bad happened.

"They're attacking on the east side!" A Yamanaka yelled making everyone scowl, especially Shikamaru.

Shikamaru stopped what he was doing and listened to the frantic Yamanaka's who told them what was happening on the battlefield and after a thirty minute struggle the worst possible thing happened.

"They broke through the east border." A Yamanaka reported to Shikamaru which made him turn ice cold in fear.

The interrogation headquarters are located near the east border...

"How did that happen! Where's Lee and Tenten?" Naruto yelled angrily with a frown.

"They're on a lunch break." The Yamanaka answered with a sweat drop.

"Why the he'll are they taking a lunch break together! Get both of them there now!" Naruto hollered slamming his fist on his desk making the Yamanaka jump.

"Yes sir!" He answered quickly.

That one sentence made all Shikamaru's hair rise in fear. His senses numbed as his mind thought about only one thing. Ino was in Temari's head so there is no way they could know about the sudden attack and there is only three Jonin guarding them.

That's not going to be enough. They're hopelessly outnumbered if the sound ninja found the interrogation headquarters. They won't even stand a chance. He trusted Konoha's shinobi and all, but he wouldn't leave Ino and Temari's lives in someone's hands he didn't know.

"Lee and Tenten are on their way and Lee apologizes, he says it was an unyouthful mistake that won't happen again." The Yamanaka answered making Naruto face palm and swear.

"I have to go." Shikamaru said calmly as he stood up and quickly walked to the window of Naruto's office, now serving as the headquarters for the current war.

The war between sound and leaf.

"Wait, Shikamaru!" Naruto yelled standing up as well, but it was too late he was already out the window.

"Dammit." Naruto grunted as he sat back down.

"We need more troops on the east border now! Since they're only attacking in the east." Naruto exclaimed in one of those rare moments where he was dead serious.

"What if they start attacking at the other sides?" A Yamanaka protested.

"They won't, just do as the Hokage says." Gaara said as the Yamanaka nodded.

"Aren't you worried about Temari?" Naruto asked as he calmed down and watched a calm Gaara.

"Not really." Gaara replied with crossed arms as he leaned back in his chair.

"Why not?" Naruto asked confused as well as curious.

"Because Shikamaru's heading there right now, she'll be okay." Gaara said in his usual monotone, but a slight knowing smirk played on his face making Naruto smirk as well.

"However this could be a trap to lure Shikamaru out." Hinata said as she sat in the chair Shikamaru had sat in before he left making Naruto's smirk fall.

"I know, that's what I'm worried about." Gaara said with a slight scowl.

"Send Kankurou to the east border as well." Gaara demanded as a Yamanaka nodded and communicated with Kankurou telepathically.

"I think he's taunting us." Hinata said bitterly as she looked at Naruto.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Can't you see he wants to get under Shikamaru's skin? That's why he's _only_ attacking the east border. He started attacking the border where Temari is, she also said she was attacked when she was on her way here when the first assassination attempt occurred. She is being targeted as well." Hinata explained worryingly.

"It could've been that he tried to stop her from reaching the headquarters, but I don't think that's it." Hinata said looking at Naruto.

"That's low even for a snake." Naruto growled as he looked away and out the window almost like he's glaring at Orochimaru.

"It's war Naruto. Orochimaru knows that love makes you strong and love makes you weak. Love makes you vulnerable. That's why he wants to take what we love." Gaara commented tensing up slightly.

"She's being attacked because he loves her." Hinata said sadly next to Naruto.

"You too Hinata." Gaara added forcing himself to relax again.

"I hope Temari and Ino are okay." Hinata said worryingly.

She looked over at Naruto as he leaned over and took her hand in his, holding her hand comfortingly.

"They'll be okay." Naruto smile reassuringly.

Shikamaru's face displayed cold determination as he made his way to the interrogation headquarters. He slashed several of Orochimaru's shinobi with his Chakra blades on his way to Temari not checking if he killed them or not. He was in a hurry.

He gave the chakra blades Asuma gave him to Mirai. She was his daughter and it rightfully belonged to her after all. It was her graduation gift from him and her deceased father for becoming a gennin.

Shikamaru made it to the interrogation headquarters without a scratch, but he had some blood that stained his hands and clothes, undoubtedly from the shinobi he killed or wounded. He walked as fast as he could through the open doors with deadly intentions towards the Yamanaka's machine. As he neared the open door of the room which held the Yamanaka's machine he heard voices which deepened his scowl.

"Isn't that Temari?" The first guy asked recognizing Temari instantly.

Shikamaru stayed in the shadows as he surveyed the situation and just like he guessed all three Jonin where dead on the floor, but by the look of several dead sound shinobi around them and the blood that stained the room, they gave it their all

"Yes she was Orochimaru's right hand man." The second guy agreed softly.

"Then she's on our side, right?" The first asked while the second one only shrugged.

"Didn't she betray us in the end though?" The first guy asked confused and the second one only shrugged his answer again.

"What are they doing to her anyway? Should we kill them all?" The first one asked scratching his head indecisively while the second one nodded.

They couldn't, if they killed them they would stop feeding the machine chakra and if that happens Temari will be brain dead. Shikamaru walked softly towards the two Sound Shinobi and stabbed the one who talked the whole time through his throat while roundhouse kicking the other one as he looked at his partner in shock who was gurgling on his blood. Shikamaru however successfully connected his shadow with the second Shinobi by the roundhouse kick he gave him and used his shadow to strangle him.

They never even saw him coming...

Shikamaru took his kunai out of the ninja's throat and stuffed his other hand in his pocket as he turned around and watched the door patiently. As long as he was there no one was going to touch Temari. Shikamaru's face darkened as voices and footsteps echoed through the hallway.

They're coming...

 _ **_**_  
 **A/N: Plot twist! (I think/hope). Hey guys! I'm so proud of myself for updating so fast. I mean two chapters in one day... Unheard off (if I'm the author anyway). I was supposed to be learning math, but I felt inspired and I like this chapter :P. Consider this a I'm sorry gesture for always taking long to update and I hope you like it as much as I do. I also came to realize that** Love-dragon-ball **is right, this story is not coming to an end. I find it funny how the readers knows this story better than the author :'D But NEVER DOUBT ME your fantastic author signing off :P (Does that make me sound arrogant?)**


	15. THROUGH THE EVER DAY

" _ **If I could paint the sky, would all the stars be shining bloody red?" Technicolor Beat, Oh Wonder**_

Temari's eyes fluttered opened to the unfamiliar space she was in. She didn't remember getting sucked into her memories in an environment like this one. Although the environment was all too familiar to her and familiar in a way she wasn't proud of.

There was bodies littered over the floor looking like the memories she had with Gaara on missions, except these bodies wasn't as brutalized as those left in Gaara's wake when he was younger, before he changed. Even so she couldn't just blame all the familiarity on Gaara, she was guilty as well. She didn't just leave bodies when she was living with Orochimaru; she left the whole damn village burning.

Even though the floor was covered with bodies not all of them where dead. The Yamanaka's gasped. The room wasn't covered in much blood, but crimson still stained the walls as well as the floor. It seems most of the bodies on the floor suffocated or broke their necks. Temari gasped as well, but not for the same reason as the Yamanaka's.

Over the bodies towered a panting man. He looked exhausted and was somewhat covered with blood, but Temari couldn't tell if it was his own or not. Shikamaru faced the doorway breathing heavily as he still clutched the chakra blades in his hands. Blood was still dripping from the blades.

Ino opened the dome for Temari who rushed over towards Shikamaru.

"Hey, are you okay?" Temari asked worryingly as she examined him.

"I'm fine." Shikamaru said panting, but smiled when he saw her.

"What happened?!" Temari asked confused as she looked around.

"They started attacking and broke through the east border." Shikamaru sighed.

"Where was Lee and Tenten, they weren't supposed to get past them so quickly." Temari said with a scowl.

"They took a lunch break." Shikamaru said bluntly making Temari sweat drop, but shook her head.

"What I don't understand is why are they attacking? It's still only day one." Temari asked as she gently took his chakra blades from him and placed it back in his ninja pouch.

"I don't know, but I have a feeling they were targeting you that's why they attacked only the East border." Shikamaru said as Temari wrapped her arm around his waist and took his arm and guided it around her neck.

"So he sent a whole army after me?" Temari asked with a raised eyebrow as she started leading Shikamaru to the door helping him walk, but she soon remembered the results of her gaining her memories while she still had the curse mark feeding of it.

Her legs suddenly gave in causing the both of them to fall to the ground. They were both exhausted and stressed and the only thing they could do about it was laugh.

"This is not a funny situation!" Ino said scolding them as she towered over them with her hands on her hips.

"We need to get to the headquarters ASAP and I think it'll be better to leave you two here momentarily. Kankurou, Tenten and Lee is just outside fighting and Sakura's on her way." Ino said still worried.

"No, keep her on her post. I don't want any gaps if Orochimaru decides to surprise us." Shikamaru said firmly as he stood up with Temari as they supported each other.

"It's okay Ino we'll be fine, Shikamaru's just tired and I only have a headache, now go." Temari said with a reassured smile.

Ino looked like she wanted to argue, but nodded in the end before she left with her clansmen. As a friend Ino didn't want to leave them there alone in their states, but as a shinobi she had to follow orders, even if she was worried.

Shikamaru and Temari was exhausted they could've tried to make it back to the headquarters, but they both new they'd never make it. So they decided to make themselves comfortable against the wall that was connected to the wall with the door so they wouldn't be too close to any enemies coming in, but close enough to attack them without the enemies noticing them.

Shikamaru sat down on the floor resting his back against the wall while Temari sat down in his lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist and sighed, she was slowly getting her old self back. But even so she'll never be the same.

"Shikamaru, why is Orochimaru targeting me?" Temari asked solemnly as she leaned her head back on his shoulder.

"I think you already know that answer." Shikamaru said softly in her ear as he leaned closer to her ear.

"Yes, but I want to hear it from you." Temari replied.

"It could be because he wants to get rid of loose ends or it could be because I love you." Shikamaru said as he leaned his head against hers making her smile.

Suddenly a sound shinobi appeared through the door. Temari's head shot up as her smile fell while she turned her arm into a snake and extended it towards him, grabbing his neck just as he was about to turn his head to look at them. She glared at him slightly as she moved her arm forcefully and rammed his head into the wall next to the door rendering him unconscious.

"Neat trick." Shikamaru commented leaning his head against the wall.

"You learn a few things when you live with Orochimaru." Temari smirked deviously.

"I'll leave them to you then." Shikamaru shrugged as Temari's arm returned to normal.

"That's only because you're out of chakra lazy ass." Temari said rolling her eyes.

"You know Shikamaru, maybe I'm not the target. Maybe he only used this opportunity to lure you out. Think about it..." Temari mused making Shikamaru frown.

"All the times I talked to him he never cared what happened to the people his enemies cared about as long as he could use them to get his enemy to do what he wants them to do." Temari said thinking back.

"Still it doesn't matter, he would've targeted you until I left the headquarters or you've been killed." Shikamaru sighed.

"Either way, he knew I would've come anyway. Same goes with Naruto and Hinata." Shikamaru sighed even louder than before.

"This is war Shikamaru you can't risk getting killed or neglecting your job in this war. You leaf ninja are so soft." Temari sighed rolling her eyes making Shikamaru chuckle at the phrase she so often gave him.

"I know, but its got me thinking... Maybe Gaara, Naruto and I should stay in the same place tonight, while Hinata and Kankurou stays with you. That way you won't get dragged into this mess." Shikamaru said.

This time a group of shinobi entered the room. Shikamaru unwrapped one arm from Temari's waist and took out a few kunai. He threw them at the group while Temari slammed her palms together creating a powerful wind that threw the shinobi across the room while making the kunai's speed and force to increase. The kunai lodged themselves into the group of sound shinobi who fell to the ground seconds later. Temari would've used her fan, but it was still lying next to the machine across the room and out of her reach.

She left it next to the machine when she went to check on Shikamaru then didn't bother to get it when they walked to the wall.

"You'll be a giant target." Temari said reluctantly.

"And you'll be a smaller one." Shikamaru replied.

"I still don't like it." Temari replied.

"Who's the soft one now?" Shikamaru chuckled.

"Still you cry baby." Temari smirked surprising Shikamaru.

He hasn't heard that nickname in years.

"What do you remember?" Shikamaru asked amused.

"You being a cry baby, but then saving my ass from a crazy sword lady who also uses wind attacks." Temari chucked.

"Oh yeah, you really saved my ass back then." Shikamaru smiled.

"You were right Shikamaru, Gaara did change." Temari smiled fondly.

"Naruto really is something, isn't he?" Shikamaru smiled.

"Yes he is." Temari said as she attacked another sound shinobi.

"Did you really have a smoking habit Shikamaru?" Temari asked with a devilish glint in her eyes.

"Yes I did, who told you?" Shikamaru smiled amused.

"Chouji." She smiled back.

"Traitor." Shikamaru joked.

"I would've remembered anyway." Temari chuckled.

Suddenly half a figure appeared through the wall above Shikamaru and Temari. The man hovered above them as he held a kunai above Shikamaru's head. He grinned behind his mask as he brought the kunai down with force, but his grin fell as his kunai connected with hard metal and not flesh.

Shikamaru quickly took out a kunai and intercepted the Iwagakure shinobi's attack tilting his head up as he looked at him with a bored expression while Temari shot up and spun around and kneed the guy in his face. The masked shinobi grunted and disappeared into the wall again.

"Get up Shikamaru, things just got serious." Temari said seriously as she turned to watch the room while Shikamaru stood up with a sigh.

Temari walked carefully across the room to retrieve her battle fan while Shikamaru stayed where stood. Temari made it halfway when they heard a chuckle and a figure emerge from the floor in the middle of the room.

Shikamaru switched his kunai for his chakra blades while Temari stopped and stood guarded taking out kunai as well. Temari scowled. She could fight without her fan, but she felt more comfortable with it. After all she fought with it ever since she could remember, it was second nature to her by now.

"You have brought this upon this village and our own, fifth Tsuchikage." The ninja said glaring at Temari.

He was a tall masculine man with a slight tan, but you couldn't tell much of the man since he wore a mask covering his face and hair. Only his eyes showed. His unusual purple eyes.

"You should call Orochimaru the fifth Tsuchikage, I was only there for show." Temari said not letting her guard down.

"It doesn't matter. What matters is you killed the fourth Tsuchikage and gave Orochimaru control over the village. The village was happy with Lady Kurotsuchi as Tsuchikage and you took that away." He said venomously.

"I'm not going to apologize for the monster I became because nobody ever apologized for making me this why and besides what's done is done there's nothing you or me can do about it." Temari scoffed making the man watch her with wide surprised eyes before he narrowed them again.

"There is something you can do..." the masked man said.

"And what would that be?" Temari asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You can die." He said contemptuous.

"That's not happening." Shikamaru said boredly.

"I'm going to kill you right after I finish my mission and kill him." He said glaringly pointing at Shikamaru.

"I'd like to see you try." Temari smirked, challenging him.

"You're awfully brave for someone who's exhausted." The man said making hand signs.

"I'm tired not depleted of chakra." Temari said rolling her eyes as she threw her kunai at the man and dashed for her fan.

"That was weak." The man said as the kunai lodged unto the rock he formed.

The man formed golems which followed Temari and Shikamaru everywhere while destroying everything in their path making Temari scowl as she slid over the floor and grabbed her fan. She opened her fan and released a strong wind, but it only managed to push the golem away from the machine.

"We need to get out of here Shikamaru." Temari said not saying why because if this guy was dead set on hurting her he wouldn't hesitate in destroying the only way of her getting her memories back.

"I know." Shikamaru replied.

They both dashed to the door dodging the golems and attacks of the masked man.

"Stop running you cowards." The man roared.

They ignored them as they ran through the halls with the man and golems following them however their paths got blocked by a group of enemies rushing to them.

"Ninja Art: Wind Scythe Jutsu!" Temari exclaimed as she opened and swing her fan sending the shinobi against the wall covered in cuts.

Shikamaru and Temari turned the corner and finally they made it out if the interrogation headquarters and into the light. Temari squinted in the light as she looked at the Battle around her. There was fighting everywhere luckily it seems the Gennin evacuated the villagers.

Temari dodged and grabbed the kunai that was being thrown at her and through it back hitting her mark successfully.

"So you finally stopped running?" The masked man asked as he came out the building with his golems.

"Shikamaru get back to the headquarters I can handle this." Temari said firmly not taking her eyes of the enemy.

Shikamaru looked reluctant to leave, but he knew she was right. He had to get back, he was the strategist behind the war. He couldn't afford to get killed. Shikamaru groaned in frustration.

"Troublesome woman. I'm going, but not without leaving a present." Shikamaru smirked at a confused Temari.

She looked at him then back at the enemy as she noticed Shikamaru's extended shadow. His shadow crept into the air behind the golems and the masked man each tendril attached with a paper bomb. She gaped at them as they attached the bombs to each golems head as well as the masked man. She didn't even realize them, he usually had to make hand signs for his shadow jutsus.

"Good luck Temari." Shikamaru said worried as the bombs exploded and he took his leave.

Temari nodded as she turned her attention back to the battlefield while Shikamaru took to the roofs and dashed away. Temari narrowed her eyes as the smoke and dust began to clear before her. The golems lay crumbled on the floor while the masked man's mask blew of revealing h scarred and burnt face. He stood there breathing heavily as he glared at her.

"That was a close one... Two bad my target's gone, I guess I'll kill you first after all." The man said as he shrugged as he smirked.

With the mask gone Temari could now see the man's messy long brown hair and his face which was covered in scars and burnt marks. She now understood why he had a mask on, his face was probably eighty present scar tissue, even so it was only scars. Why was he hiding behind a mask? But that didn't matter to Temari, he was an enemy.

"What makes you think you can kill the person who killed your Tsuchikage, the strongest ninja in your village?" Temari scoffed leaning on her closed fan trying to get him angry.

"Shut up." The man spit as he dashed to her in anger.

Irrational people are always easier to fight and easier to read. They're predictable. He tried to punch her, but she ducked and jabbed her fan into his stomach. He grunted and coughed, but held on to her fan keeping her from moving away without leaving her fan behind. He pulled her closer and kneed her in her stomach making her gasp for air and cough as well.

Temari quickly punched his face using her elbow and sent him staggering back as he released her fan. She stood to her full height and smirked as she used her fan as a club and hit him across his stomach making him fly back. Her smirk grew more vicious as she unfurled her fan and swung it.

"Wind Style: Wind Blade Jutsu!" Temari exclaimed as a powerful sharp wind connected with the man's body, his face contorting in shock.

But instead of blood there was smoke. His body popped out of existence and instead was replaced with a piece of rock which her wind went straight through. Her jutsu went on and instead connected with another sound shinobi, who yelled in pain and surprise.

"Substitution jutsu." Temari growled as she placed her fan in front of her almost like a shield as she glared around for her enemy.

Temari's eyes widened, he was behind her, but she knew it was already too late. She closed her fan and spun around just in time as the man sent her flying against a nearby building using his rock pillars. Temari grunted as she flew through the wall. Temari wiped off her mouth off as she leaned on her fan then walked out the building and into the battlefield again.

"You're not as strong as you pretend to be." The man smirked.

"You think that's the extend of my power? You're kidding right?" Temari laughed at him making him scowl.

"You once feared me... Let me remind you of that fear." Temari smiled maliciously making the man's eyes widen.

Temari released the first stage of her curse mark causing black marks trace her skin delicately, like the wind was dancing on her skin. The man's fearful purple eyes stared into her eyes cold teal ones.

"Where's all your bravado from before?" Temari smirked eerily, but the man didn't reply instead he made dozens of golems to protect himself.

But sadly, it wouldn't help him one bit. Temari smirked at his feeble attempt to protect himself from her. Orochimaru definitely rubbed off on her because she enjoyed his fear.

"Wind Style: Casting Net." Temari said smugly with a smile as she swung her fan realizing multiple sharp wind blades cutting down every last one of his useless golems he had.

"Ninja Art: Wind Scythe Jutsu." Temari said as the man scowl making hand signs, but she swung her fan faster creating a tornado that she controlled.

She swooped him up in her tornado before his rock dome could enclose him. The man flew in the air, being cut in every direction as Temari stood on the ground her arm slung over her fan amused. After a while of the wind tormenting him she took her fan and led the tornado to the ground making him crash into the ground, hard.

Temari walked to his unconscious body and took out a kunai. She knelt down to him swinging her kunai on her finger amused.

"Game over." She whispered ready to slash his throat and end his pitiful existence, but a voice stopped her.

"Temari?!" Kankurou exclaimed surprised as he controlled his puppets.

"Kankurou." She gasped in surprise dropping her kunai and standing up.

Kankurou watched the black marks over her body in shock. Temari looked at the floor as she made the marks slowly dance across her skin until they were completely gone.

"Where still in the middle of a battlefield, stay focused." Kankurou said as he reverted his attention back to his opponents.

"Right." Temari nodded with a determined face.

She hated that her little brother saw her like that, but she couldn't let it bother her now.

"Are you okay Shikamaru?" Hinata asked worried as he walked in.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Shikamaru said as he sat down in a chair by the map and rubbed his temples.

"You've certainly seen better days." Naruto smirked amused at the battered Shikamaru.

"Thank you for your comment Naruto." Shikamaru said with heavy sarcasm while narrowing his eyes at Naruto.

"Where's Temari?" Gaara asked with crossed arms.

"She's still at the battlefield." Shikamaru said tensed.

"I see. She told you to come back, didn't she?" Gaara said with his calm demeanor.

"Yeah, that's why I'm here." Shikamaru shrugged looking at the map.

"Don't worry she'll be okay, she's strong." Ino commented by the floating bubble.

"I know, but that won't make me worry less. I know you have the same feeling every time Sai goes away on a mission or even fighting in this war." Shikamaru commented lazily.

"Right as always." Ino chuckled as she managed the Yamanaka's.

"How's it looking there Ino?" Naruto asked leaning back in his chair.

"No changes in the North, South and West side while the battle continues in the East." Ino replied.

"And the villagers are they still okay?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, I've been keeping an _eye_ on them. They're safe in the underground tunnels with the gennin guarding them." Gaara said in his monotonic voice.

"Good, what are the casualties so far?" Naruto asked as he tensed up at his own question.

"We've lost a 1/4 of our troops in the east, but the enemy has suffered more casualties than we did, seventh." Ino answered, but Naruto still sighed he hated casualties.

It always meant that somewhere a family or friends are going to be heartbroken by the death of a loved one. He knew the feeling all too well and so did most of the people in this room. Ino and Shikamaru lost a mentor, Hinata lost a cousin, Gaara lost an uncle and a sister for a while Naruto lost his mentor, his parents, friends and Sasuke, but only for a while as well.

"It's almost night, are we all set?" Naruto asked with a sigh.

"About that..." Shikamaru said looking at Naruto and Gaara as they raised an eyebrow.

"The enemy is retreating in the East." Ino interrupted.

"That's a relieve." Naruto sighed in relieve while Hinata smiled.

"And so the night raid begins... Tell Temari and Kankurou to come here Ino." Shikamaru sighed.

"Right." Ino said nodding.

"We'll wait until Temari and Kankurou are here then I'll tell you what I have in mind for tonight." Shikamaru said seriously looking at Naruto and Gaara while Hinata looked worried.

"This is gonna be the longest night of our lives, except for you maybe Gaara since your used to it from your childhood." Naruto moped as he rested his head on his hand while pouting.

Shikamaru sighed as he looked out the window. May the games begin...

_  
 **A/N: I want to give a shout out to all my readers who've read** _ **under the never sky,**_ **you all get a cookie, I absolutely adore that book. For those who've read it... yes, this is the second's book title (sort of).**

 **I actually planned this chapter to be the events of the night (that's where the title comes in, this chapter is named after the book), but that didn't happen so I changed the title a bit. The next chapter is going to be my planned title and chapter.**

 **I really appreciate you guys that takes the time to read this story and go through the trouble of commenting, it always makes my day :P** **Until next time my lovelies...**

 **(I got tired of the thing I usually say, there comes a time when something just becomes outdated and annoying).**


	16. THROUGH THE EVER NIGHT

_**"And I feel life for the very first time, love in my arms and the sun in my eyes. I feel safe in the 5am light, you carry my fears as the heavens set fire" - Technicolor Beat, Oh Wonder.**_  
 _ **_**_

"Come on Shikamaru, wake up!" Temari said worryingly as the rain poured down on them.

Temari coddled Shikamaru's head on her lap. It was already 5 am in the morning, but it was still dark and cold. It was always darker before the dawn after all.

"Please wake up." Temari said desperately as she applied pressure to his nasty stab wounds, but Shikamaru didn't move.

"I said wake up dammit!" Temari said scowling as fear started building up in her stomach.

"I can't do this alone, please wake up." Temari said lowering her voice to a whisper while her voice cracked as tears started swelling up in her eyes.

xXx

 _ **An hour earlier:**_

Temari had a permanent scowl on her face as she sat in the chair in Shikamaru's room. It was almost four in the morning and they were almost in the clear. Temari watched the clock as time ticked on. Time waited for no one. Shikamaru had convinced Naruto and Gaara that they should stick together while Hinata and Kankurou stayed at his place with Temari.

Currently Hinata was sound asleep in Shikamaru's bed while Kankurou made himself cozy on the floor. Temari sat quietly in a dark corner on Shikamaru's comfy chair while she crossed her legs and kept a hand on her fan which leaned against the chair.

She was on second to watch, while Kankurou kept watch first. Being on watch alone gave Temari plenty of time to wonder how the boys where doing. Surely most of the deadliest assassins would attack them. Even though they were extremely strong, with two of them being Kage's and all. She still worried. Temari got sucked out of her worrying as she saw the clock strike four. Her turn was almost done then the war would start, just a few hours more.

So far the night was still and she had no problems. There was a few people who tried to sneak in, but Temari quickly made dispose of them. Temari sat and kept guard over her little brother and a pregnant Hinata as they slept. What she didn't know was how even though Shikamaru planned on them not getting involved, that wasn't the problem. The problem was shikamaru getting involved.

"Tick, tock." A whispered voice echoed through the room eerily.

Temari's eyes narrowed as she couldn't find the source of the voice. She stood up and tightened her grip on her fan.

"Come out." Temari hissed at the voice.

"Time is running out." The voice continued her ominous hushed song.

"I'm tired of this game, come out now." Temari said in a low tone as she glared at the empty room.

"Your warning is coming, what will you do?" She continued singing as she became amused.

"Kick your ass, now come out dammit!" Temari hissed, she couldn't pinpoint where the voice was coming from since it echoed everywhere in the room.

"I'm right here." The voice said evilly.

Temari spun around in time to dodge her hidden sword and opened her fan which smacked the woman's other hidden sword away.

This woman made Temari shiver, she bore a striking resemblance towards Hikari that haunted Temari even if she didn't like Hikari, but it felt like she came back from the dead. She had the same wavy brown hair that Hikari did, but wore it in a high ponytail. She wore the same style the stone shinobi did except she had two loose sleeves instead of one and hid both her swords in them.

She was probably an effective assassin. Her body was even build the same as Hikari's, the only difference where their eyes. Hikari had beautiful sky blue eyes, but the assassin in front of her had haunting blood red eyes, hungry for the thrill of blood.

"You don't happen to be related to Hikari, do you?" Temari growled as the woman retracted her swords.

"What makes you think I know that name?" She smirked back.

"She's an S-rank missing nin from your village if I'm right and you two have a striking resemblance." Temari said eyeing her outfit.

"You're right and I'm her sister by the way." She said amused.

Temari scowled, she was fighting against a nut job. Temari took out a kunai behind her fan and in one swift motion she drove it right in her heart. Hikari's sister looked shocked, but then smiled amused like it was nothing.

"Guess again." She smirked deviously before she popped out of existence in smoke.

Temari scowled. She had some of Hikari's traits too. Playing with her pray was one of them.

"Let's play a game Desert Lily or is it Desert Angel?" She said amused her voice echoing softly around the room again.

"It's Temari and I don't want to play with you." She growled.

If her games were anything like Hikari's, Temari knew innocent lives are going to get involved and possibly killed. And Temari was certain that's how it's going to go down.

"Let's go with Desert Lily then, I always liked flowers. Oh and honey you don't have a choice but to play otherwise I'll kill the pregnant woman faster than you can blink and after that I'll move on to your puppet loving brother." She laughed, but the funny thing was she hadn't even said anything about her sister being killed.

Temari's scowled deepened. She didn't like this game. She had to get the crazy woman out of the room otherwise she's going to destroy everything. Kankurou's sleep is going to have to get cut short.

"Fine I'll play, but only if the pregnant woman and my little brother get left alone and we move this game outside." Temari said sternly closing her fan.

"Whatever you say desert lily, but then I get to choose a few rules of my own. Just to make sure it's fun." She said smugly.

"Alright. Kankurou wake up!" Temari exclaimed looking at Kankurou with a hard expression.

Kankurou quickly woke up and stood up surveying his surroundings as he.

"I'm done with my turn and it's not yet six o'clock, why did you wake me up?" Kankurou asked confused watching the clock.

"I need to take care of something so I need you to watch Hinata." Temari said with soft eyes as she looked at her little brother.

"What do you need to take care of at four in the morning?" Kankurou asked confused with narrowed eyes.

"War Kankurou, war and games." Temari sighed and smiled before she left out the window leaving her little brother to protect Hinata.

Temari jumped to the roof of a house some way away from Shikamaru's apartment. She took her fan of her back and slammed it on the roof as a strong wind blew though her dirty blonde hair. A storm was brewing.

"You wanted a game, let's play your stupid little game." Temari said determinedly.

"Don't be so hasty Desert Lily I still need to tell you my rules." She smirked as she became visible to Temari making her glare at Hikari's sister.

"I'm not one for rules so there won't be any, but every time you kill a clone the consequences will increase in intensity." She smiled amused.

"Meaning..." Temari said looking for an explanation.

"Every time a clone goes poof I replace them with an object, living or not. The first clone was only round one so I didn't replace it with something." She shrugged like nothing was wrong with her twisted malfeasance.

"But who knows what'll happen next maybe you'll stab a flower, a cat, a villager or little Mirai." She smirked taking a step closer to Temari whose eyes widened.

"You wouldn't..." Temari gasped.

She was only a child, Temari couldn't stab Mirai. She couldn't do that to Shikamaru.

"Guess we'll find out." She laughed as she rushed forward with her hidden swords coming out her sleeves.

Temari's fan clashed against her sword as she blocked it. She grunted as Hikari's sister leaned in. Wet rain drops slowly started to drip down to the earth. The eternal stars that always seemed to dance around in the ever night sky with the moon guiding them was now gone and replaced by water raining down on the thirsty earth.

"This is your warning Temari. Come back to Orochimaru or he'll kill everyone you care about." She said getting serious for the first time tonight.

"Not before I kill him and his little minions first, that includes you." Temari growled leaning in as well, pushing her away with a grunt.

"Have it your way then." She replied bitterly, they were soaked in a matter of seconds as the rain continued to pour down.

The woman flung hundreds of senbons toward Temari making her open her fan only a little as she revealed her first moon.

"First moon" Temari said bitterly.

All the senbons clashed against Temari's strong wind and clattered to the ground as a gust still continued to rush forward. Hikari's sister didn't waste time as she went to slash Temari's throat, however this time Temari disappeared in smoke.

"Wind Style: Flashing Fireworks!" Temari exclaimed as she appeared behind Hikari's sister and threw shrunken in front of her as she swung her fan making shuriken bounce everywhere.

Temari gasped in horror as she watched puffs of smoke appear everywhere. She prayed she didn't hit a villager. Luckily to Temari's relief she only killed flowers and tree trunks.

"Wow desert lily you just went through five rounds in one shot, do you really think that's wise." She said in a reprimanding tone, but more amused than ever.

Temari scowl as she spun around and swung her giant fan again.

"Ninja Art: Sandstorm Jutsu." Temari said bitterly disturbing the sand and dust that was laying peacefully on the roof and made a giant dust cloud.

She rushed towards Hikari's sister while she was blinded and took her kunai for a killing blow, but as luck would have it that didn't happen...

Temari hesitated for the slightest moment as she thought about the game. She adjusted her target from the heart to a non-fatal blow in the stomach region. Temari's kunai connected to flesh, but to Temari's horror she disappeared in a puff of smoke and got replaced by a person.

She was fast. She was just as efficient with substitution jutsu as Naruto was with his clones. Temari's eyes widened as she heard the scream of a woman. The woman she stabbed.

"No, no, no. I'm so sorry." Temari gasped as she quickly pulled the kunai out of the woman's back.

"You won't get away with this, our shinobi will find you." The woman cried in pain as she clutched her stomach and glared at Temari in fear.

"Get out of here I don't want to kill you on accident." Temari replied not taking her comment to heart.

"Monster." She answered as she eyed Temari and ran away.

"I'm sorry." Temari said detached as her eyes wandered to Hikari's sister.

She hoped Naruto would understand what happened when she stabbed one of his citizens, she also hoped Shikamaru would know what really happened when that woman report to the hospital. Temari's teal eyes darkened and went cold as she glared at Hikari's sister while her curse mark activated.

"That's not very wise, now is it Temari?" She smirked at a furious Temari.

"Wind Style: Wind Blade Jutsu." She said bitterly swinging her fan as a sharp wind blade went straight at Hikari's sister.

Hikari's sister chuckled as she leapt into the air above Temari's wind blade and behind Temari. Temari closed her fan and in one swift motion turned around and smacked Hikari's sister with her fan hard in the side sending her flying, but she once again disappeared in a puff of smoke as she switched her body with someone else's sending that person flying instead and straight into one of Hikari's sisters hidden swords. Temari saw a man gasped in surprise as his eyes widened in pain and surprise at the sudden attack.

"Shikamaru!" Temari exclaimed in shock as her eyes widened in fear.

"Oh dear, you know this man?" She said in a amused sarcastic voice as Temari's curse mark disappeared slowly.

"Let him go." Temari said calmly with a scowl.

"Oops guess I also knew where _he_ was all along." She shrugged ignoring Temari as Shikamaru looked more confused than Temari did shocked.

"What a shame he's going to die, he was such a handsome man." She said pouting as she leaned her head on Shikamaru's shoulder making him grunt from his stab wound.

"You must be one of Orochimaru's assassins, I encountered quite a few on this troublesome night. What's your name?" Shikamaru growled through his pain.

"Tora's the name and I'm the best Orochimaru's got." she smirked on his shoulder as she turned her sword slowly in Shikamaru's stomach making him grunt in pain.

"Then I guess his best isn't that good. Troublesome assassins." Shikamaru said annoyed as a shadow hand crawled up her body and to her neck.

"What is this?" Tora exclaimed surprised with wide eyes as the hand began strangling her.

"Ninja Art: Shadow Strangle Jutsu." Shikamaru said boredly.

Tora grunted as Shikamaru started strangling her while Temari dashed towards them fan in one hand and kunai in the other. Tora glared at a smirking Shikamaru while she used her other sword to stab Shikamaru as well, but this time dangerously close to his heart and lung. She got too smug with herself as Shikamaru grunted and his jutsu weakened. She tilted her sword slightly upwards making Shikamaru's eyes widened and cough up blood, but then Tora also started coughing up blood as she gasped.

"How careless, that wasn't wise Tora." Temari said mockingly as she stabbed Tora in her heart from behind and this time she didn't disappear in a puff of smoke.

"This is not the end Temari." Tora said dazed as her heart slowly stopped functioning.

Tora gasped and fell backwards as her last breath escaped her mouth. Her swords slid out of Shikamaru as she fell backwards making him stumble forward when he was finally free from the swords.

"I've got you." Temari said as she wrapped an arm around him and supported him.

He smiled at her as his eyes closed and he lost consciousness. Temari forgot how to breathe as she carefully laid him down on the ground, fear evident in her eyes

"Come on Shikamaru, wake up!" Temari said worryingly as it started raining harder.

Shikamaru was battered and bruised from the nights previous fights. Temari sat at his head and pulled his head on her lap. It was already 5 am in the morning, she didn't even realize the time that passed by, but it was still dark and cold. It was always darker before dawn after all.

"Please wake up." Temari said desperately as she applied pressure on his nasty stab wounds, but shikamaru didn't move.

"I said wake up dammit!" Temari said scowling as fear started building up in her stomach.

"I can't do this alone, please wake up." Temari said lowering her voice to a whisper while her voice cracked as tears started swelling up in her eyes.

A tear rolled down Temari's cheek and blended with the rain that caressed her skin. She closed her eyes trying to get the horrible possibilities out of her mind as she felt Shikamaru's heartbeat slow down. Temari flinched and opened her eyes quickly as she felt a hand brush her tear away.

"Well get through this together." Shikamaru smiled softly as Temari watched him with wide eyes, his heart may have slowed but it was steady.

Shikamaru looked exhausted and you could also hear it in his voice.

"We have to get you to Sakura." Temari said as she helped him stand up while relief flooded through her.

"She's not on duty now." Shikamaru answered as he draped an arm over Temari's shoulders and leaned on her.

"She is now." Temari said seriously as she created a clone to wake up Sakura while she started walking with shikamaru to the hospital.

They weren't moving as fast as Temari would've liked, but shikamaru did have two stab wounds and one could possibly be fatal so she didn't want to push it. They made slow progress until they reached the hospital.

Sakura stood at the door with a few nurses and a stretcher, but when she saw them she ran into the rain to support shikamaru on his other side. Temari caught sight of Sasuke behind the nurses which surprised her a lot. _Why would he be here?_

Temari and Sakura helped shikamaru on the stretcher. The nurses pushed him away as he fell asleep again while Sakura examined him and Temari followed.

"He's going to be alright. He's one stab wound is serious however, but he's in the hands of the best medical nin in the village." Sakura grinned as they rushed him into an operating room.

"Don't let lady Tsunade hear that." Temari laughed while Sakura cringed, but she was still worried about Shikamaru.

"You're right, but you'll have to wait outside Temari. We need to operate, she punctured his lung." Sakura said as Temari nodded and she closed the doors to the room leaving Temari to stare at the closed doors.

Temari sighed and walked to benches as she sat down in the waiting area placing her fan next to her.

"I didn't expect to see you here this early in the morning..." Temari said as she glanced from the floor to Sasuke who approached slowly.

"It's a public area, I'm allowed to be here." Sasuke shrugged as he sat down opposite Temari.

"Did you lose something here?" Temari asked confused.

"No, I'm simply sitting here." Sasuke said bluntly.

"Why?" Temari asked narrowing her eyes at him.

"Because I can." Sasuke replied making Temari roll her eyes.

Temari knew Sasuke wasn't bad anymore and he came back to the village, but it was weird because the last thing she remembered of him was him going rogue and becoming Orochimaru's toy. Konoha tried to get the last Uchiha back with a team where Shikamaru was the captain, but that didn't go well at all and his whole team was nearly killed.

Shikamaru was the only one who walked away with minimum injuries, a broken finger, but only because she saved him from the girl with the demonic flute. His whole team was nearly killed because of the man that sat in front of her. However she knew he wasn't the same as before, not even his eyes were the same.

Usually they were cold onyx black eyes that turned into angry blood red eyes in fights, but now one eye was constantly covered by his long raven black hair while his other eye was unemotional but still held a little compassion. She has yet to see his eyes in fights. She wondered what happened to him that changed him. She couldn't think of anything except his brother or was it maybe Naruto's work. If Naruto could've changed Gaara, he could change anyone.

"No really Sasuke, why are you here? Any normal person would be sleeping now." Temari asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Then I guess I'm not a normal person and besides you're sitting here too." Sasuke said with crossed arms.

"That's because I was busy and now I'm waiting for Shikamaru." Temari said rolling her eyes then a devious smirk played on her face.

"Who are you waiting for then?" Temari smirked amused as Sasuke hesitated slightly before answering, like he was thinking of a valid lie.

"Nobody." He scoffed looking away, was Sasuke Uchiha really such a bad liar or was it a one-time thing only.

"Whatever you say Uchiha." She smirked at him in complete amusement while he glared at her, this totally made her day.

The mighty and unemotional Sasuke Uchiha who didn't care about anybody was now waiting for Sakura Haruno five o'clock in the morning. It made Temari wonder how he even knew where she was when he was supposed to be asleep, was he maybe already at Sakura's house when her clone called Sakura?

"What are you smiling about?" Sasuke asked annoyed.

"Wouldn't you like to know." She teased.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sasuke asked glaring at her.

"Nothing just carry on like I know nothing." Temari chuckled.

"That's because you don't." Sasuke scoffed.

"Of course not." Temari laughed.

She was a hundred percent positive that Sasuke had a thing for Sakura. Why else would he be sitting here when he could be sleeping.

"There was a woman who was submitted here earlier. She said you stabbed her." Sasuke said with a raised eyebrow as he questioned her.

"That's right. I did stab her." Tamara sighed looking away.

"Your loyalties aren't shifting, are they Temari?" Sasuke said suspicious laced in his voice as he analyzed her.

"Of course not, don't be ridiculous. There's nothing I'd rather see more than seeing him dead. What happened was one of Orochimaru's goons used her as a substitution object so I stabbed her instead of the assassin." Temari said with a hard expression as she looked back at Sasuke.

"Makes sense, Naruto told me about your little assassination problem." Sasuke said as the suspicion left his voice.

"And you didn't think of protecting your Hokage?" Temari asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Naruto can take care of himself." Sasuke said with a slight smirked.

"Right, I guess you were too _bus_ y to help." Temari said amused as Sasuke's smirk fell and his grumpy expression returned.

"What are you implying?" Sasuke asked glaring at her.

"Nothing." She replied with a slight chuckle.

After that they didn't bother with small talk. Temari didn't really know the guy and Sasuke found her conversations _troublesome,_ so they just waited patiently for the operation to finish and after an hour Sakura came out the door with a smile making the last of Temari's tension and interception leave her body. She can relax again, sort of.

A faint blush painted itself on Sakura's cheeks as her eyes caught Sasuke's, but she quickly broke eye contact and look at Temari.

"He's okay, just like a said he would be. I'm keeping him here for the day just so he can fully recover, I would've liked to keep him here for a few days but we don't have that luxury. We need him at HQ. Shikamaru's exhausted that's probably why he passed out, that and lack of oxygen, so I don't expect him to wake up anytime soon plus he likes his sleep." Sakura said with a calm smile.

"Thank you Sakura and sorry about waking you up so early. You probably didn't want to be _disturbed._ " Temari smirked at the last word aiming it specifically at Sasuke who groaned and face palmed himself in frustration while Sakura just looked confused.

"That's okay, you had a good reason." Sakura replied confused at Sasuke's behavior and the way Temari said that last word.

The nurses rolled a sleeping Shikamaru out of the operating room while Sasuke stood up.

"Try and get some sleep Temari." Sakura said with a smile as she walked away with Sasuke while Temari followed the nurses who pushed Shikamaru to another room.

The nurses finally stopped at an empty room which they left him in. They walked passed Temari as they exited the room. She walked to the chair next to Shikamaru's bed. They still had an hour to go before the attacks would stop. Until then she'll stay awake then she'll go to the west border and fight in the war. Sleep will have to wait until tonight.

 _ **_**_  
 **A/N: I'm super depressed :( Final Fantasy xv only comes out on PlayStation 4 and X box, but I only have a PlayStation 3 :'( I love final fantasy... Why Sony... why do you hate me?**

 **Anyway I hope you enjoyed the chapter and don't forget to vote and comment my Lovie's :P Oh and what final fantasy is your favorite if you've played it. Mine is lightning returns :D **


	17. RESEMBLANCE

_**"There's an end to every storm, once all the trees have been uprooted, once all the houses have been ripped apart, the wind will hush, the clouds will part. The rain will stop, the sky will clear in an instant and only then, in those quiet moments after the storm do we learn who was strong enough to survive it." - Grey's anatomy**_

* * *

 _Drip, drip, drip._

The sound Temari woke up to. Temari woke up from a constant dripping sound tapping against the window. She slowly opened her eyes as she groggily sat up and looked around her confused. She was still at the hospital sitting in the chair next to the bed Shikamaru was sleeping in.

He looked so serene and stress free. She imagined him dreaming of the emerald green hill he loved to sleep on, where the brilliant sun shone and illuminated the earth beneath, with lazy fluffy clouds floating about while he slept under the cool shade of his beloved tree. A time where he was carefree and not robbed of his joy.

A time when Asuma wasn't brutally killed and he was still innocent. A time when he didn't have this much responsibility and could take a nap anytime he wanted to. A time when his father wasn't killed by war and his mother was still smiling. A time when all his friends were still alive and laughing with him. A time when she wasn't as broken as now.

The good old times.

She wished he could come back to those times of bliss, he didn't deserve this, but she knew he would only wake up to a hill that lost its rich color and gloomy grey clouds that hang heavily in the sky where his adored tree couldn't protect him from the sun's radiant light because of the somber grey clouds hiding it. It made the tree look lonely and deprived of joy.

The reality where a war brewed between Konoha and Orochimaru, Neji was dead as well as his father and Asuma. A reality where Mirai grew up without a father and Kurenai lost the man she loved.

A reality where his mother spent her days growing old alone without her husband and his dear blond teammate was fatherless. A reality where Hinata was pregnant during a war and Tenten lost her teammate as well as someone she loved.

A reality where the troublesome woman Shikamaru fell in love with didn't remember him. It was tragic really. Wouldn't it be lovely to never wake up and just stay in our blissful dreams or one day wake up to paradise?

Temari frowned slightly, what made her think that Shikamaru's, Ino and Mirai's fathers where dead. Nobody ever told her that and her memories haven't developed that far, but she just couldn't shake this feeling that this is how it is.

Temari only had planned to lie down on her arms for a minute after the assassins left, to rest her dreary eyes, but in the end her tired eyes dragged her to the depths of her own dreams. Temari stood up tiredly when suddenly there was an explosion. Temari's eyes widened as she ran to the window while the sound of explosions and fighting became clearer and more constant.

She saw flashes of explosions mix in with the intimidating light of lightning while the smoke of the aftermath of destruction rose freely to the grey clouds above, blending with them, becoming a unusual mix of suffocating smoke and unrestricting clouds. They intoxicated one another, an unending blend.

The war has started.

Temari scowled as she pushed herself away from the window and ran out the room. She caught a nurse's shoulder that was running down the corridor in a hurry. She spun around to face Temari impatiently, yet still politely.

Temari gasped and staggered away from the nurse in surprise when the nurse spun around and Temari saw her face. She gaped at the nurse like she'd seen a ghost.

Who was this nurse?

She bore a striking resemblance towards her dead mother, they were even the same lengths. When she looked at the nurse she looked straight into her mother's indigo eyes and soft light brown hair framing her gentle loving face. She couldn't muster a single word as the nurse's eyebrows furrowed in worry.

"Are you alright ma'am?" The nurse asked Temari worried, even their voices sounded the same.

"Ma'am?" The nurse asked again, more worried and uncertain this time.

Temari blinked back into reality at the nurse's question. She blinked a few more times as she watched the nurse in utter confusion. Her mother's perfect image vanished and was replaced by the hospital nurse's true form. She was still the same height as her mother, but her hair was now jet black and her indigo eyes turned to a hazy purple.

This wasn't her dead mother. Was Temari losing her mind?

"Sorry, I'm fine, you just looked like someone who was very dear to me once." Temari said shaking her head while rubbing her temples.

"Can you tell me what the time is?" Temari asked the nurse calmly as she collected herself again.

"About 11 o'clock last time I checked. Anything else?" The nurse asked eyeing her, but not in a judgmental way, more like checking if she had injuries.

"What?" Temari gasped in shock.

"I asked is there anything else I can help you with." The nurse asked confused, but Temari heard her the first time.

"No, thank you." Temari said shaking her head as the nurse bowed her head slightly then left on her merry way again while Temari watched the haunting woman walk away. What Temari didn't see however was the small smirk that played on the nurse's face when she rushed away.

The war had long since started. If they estimated right it had started just little after six and she was supposed to be at HQ at six o'clock too. She overslept. Temari scowled and ran into the hospital room Shikamaru and her fan occupied. She grabbed her fan and strapped it on her back as she ran to the door.

However when Temari reached the door she faltered slightly. She looked back at Shikamaru's sleeping form before she sighed and dashed away closing the door behind her. He wouldn't be up in a while, but she knew his lazy habit played a big roll with that, he really liked his sleep.

Temari ran towards the hospital entrance, but stopped when she saw lady Tsunade writing on a clipboard. Sakura had introduced her to the retired Hokage.

"Why didn't anyone wake me up?" Temari exclaimed surprising Tsunade who looked up at her.

"Because you're fighting on the front lines and you need your sleep in your condition." Tsunade said calmly then continued writing on her clipboard.

"I'm a long distance fighter, I'll probably be on the wall most of the time anyway and what's my _condition_ supposed to mean?" Temari scoffed.

"It means your mind needs rest to digest everything you remember or learn we don't want the memory loss to become a permanent thing" Tsunade said with a sigh.

Temari looked away without replying while walking away making Tsunade eye her as she left.

Temari sighed as she stepped into the pouring rain outside the hospital then jumped to the roofs. First she had to report to her brother then she'll fight the war. It dawned on Temari that she was indirectly one of the reasons this war happened.

What a senseless war...

The cold rain shocked her back to her senses when she left the warmth of the hospital and entered the coldness of the outside world. She was completely drenched as she jumped on the slippery roofs to the Hokage mansion.

Temari's eyes suddenly widened as she stopped abruptly and snapped her head towards an alleyway on the ground, but there was nothing, no one was standing there. Her mother wasn't lurking in the shadow of the alleyway, watching her. However Temari could've sworn she saw her mother again, but it was only her imagination. There was no way she could still be alive.

She watched her die giving birth to Gaara.

Temari sighed and shook her head trying to clear her thoughts as she started dashing to the Hokage mansion again and finally after a while she reached their temporary headquarters, completely soaked and dripping from the rain. She stepped into the headquarters making all heads turn to her.

"Temari, you're awake." Naruto commented as he leaned back in his chair while she walked in.

"Why didn't anyone wake me?" Temari asked irritated.

"Sakura told us to leave you." Gaara said calmly.

"Why did you listen to her, she's not the Hokage or the Kazekage." Temari said with folded arms while Naruto turned white and Gaara opened his mouth to say something, but closed it and looked away.

She also noticed everyone in the room either looking away or turn slightly white, except Ino who smirked amused. Temari sighed and shook her head, _what was that about?_

"Anyway I'm awake now and going to the battlefield. I already wasted to much time." Temari said uncrossing her arms.

"Alright, be careful Temari." Gaara said while Temari nodded and turned around.

"Aren't I always?" Temari replied with a smirk.

"Does destroying things in the process count?" Naruto said under his breath making Temari glare at him.

"You're one to talk Naruto." Ino said rolling her eyes.

Naruto gulped just before Temari scoffed and turn back around again. Temari left the Hokage mansion and jumped on the slick roofs yet again, but this time she dashed to the west border of the leaf village.

Temari jumped from house to house as she made her way towards the west border where she would join Chouji and Sai. She finally made it to the wall and perched herself on top of a long pole on a look out point. She surveyed the battle beneath her as she balanced on the high pole, holding her closed fan behind her.

The rain kept pouring down on the dreary war making Temari sigh. Temari took a deep breath and closed her eyes while she leaned forward, making her free fall to the ground. She fell through the air as the cold wind rushed through her hair.

Temari opened her eyes in bitter determination as she unfurled her fan and swept it beneath her so she would glide on her fan instead of hitting the hard ground. A few of the enemy shinobi got distracted by her, ultimately leading in their deaths.

She narrowed her eyes at the enemy troops marching to the leaf shinobi. She scoffed and pulled her fan out beneath her and swung it to the group of enemy shinobi successfully cutting a large group of them down.

Temari gracefully dropped to the ground and landed in a crouch with her fan closed. She stood up slowly while swinging her fan open again and placing it behind her, disturbing the restless air around her. Temari sprang into action and dashed through the crowds of fighting shinobi cutting down the enemy shinobi in her way until she was in the very front of the leaves front lines. She growled as she stepped forward and swung her fan with all her might.

"Wind style: great cast net." Temari exclaimed as a powerful wind swept a few of the enemy of their feet while cutting deep into their skin.

And so it began...

A few cries of pain rose from shinobi as the wind sliced at them, but the attack didn't even make a dent in their large troop. She clashed her fan against attacking shinobi as she danced through them and smashed their heads with her fan then moved to the next ninja. She dodged most of the attacks, but not all.

There was fighting all around Temari, but she could still see Chouji's giant body to her left in the corner of her eye and Sai's drawing running loose through the enemies to her right. An hour passed and the war was still going strong. Temari used her curse mark to grow her wings and fly above the mass group that almost consumed her.

She used her fan to blow them all away. A shinobi tried to shoot her down, but his weapon only bounced of her wing which she used to block his attack. She bit her thump and smeared the blood on her fan with a vicious smirk.

"Quick beheading dance." Temari exclaimed and swung her fan.

Kamatari popped into existence in a puff of smoke as he rode the wind Temari created. Some shinobi tried to take shelter from her deathly wind, but no matter where they hid they still felt the full force of her jutsu. Shinobi fell to the ground lifeless as her jutsu sliced them like it sliced the trees effortlessly.

Even if they survived her jutsu, they still got crushed by the trees crashing down on them and crushing them. She flew back to the wall and landed next to Sai who sat comfortably on the ground while drawing some beasts every now and then when he felt some of them disappearing.

"Temari, what a lovely surprise. Have you come to keep me company or do you need a brake?" Sai smiled at Temari as her wings disappeared.

"Neither." Temari said with a smile as she rolled her eyes.

"We need people on the wall, not just on the front lines." Temari said.

"I see." Sai replied as Temari leaned on her closed fan.

"I wonder how the others is doing?" Sai mused as he watched his beasts dancing around in the midst of war.

"Not losing, hopefully." Temari sighed watching the sky where the sun was supposed to be.

 **xXx**

Naruto leaned in his chair as he watched the village outside his window. Rain was still pouring steadily down on them without any sign of stopping soon. The chatter in his office never ceased as everyone kept each other in the loop about the status of the war and what was happening on the battlefield.

Naruto was itching to be part of the fighting. He hated to be cooped up in this office while his friends were fighting the war without him. He was a guy who took action and fought in battles plus he's strong so he could them a lot. But his job as Hokage was to plan everything and manage Konoha's forces.

Even though he had Shikamaru to do that. Shikamaru was his assistant and Konoha's strategist. If you had a mind like Shikamaru's, you would be an idiot not to leave him in charge of all the planning. Shikamaru planned and Naruto implemented it. It was how they worked.

"I'm here." Shikamaru said as he opened the door and made his presence known.

"Finally." Naruto laughed ad he turned in his chair to face Shikamaru.

"Did Sakura finally kick you out of bed?" Ino said amused with a chuckle.

"No Sakura is still fighting." Shikamaru said as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked to the table with the map.

"If she didn't who did then?" Ino asked confused.

"Maybe he woke up and decided to come himself." Hinata said her voice a little unsure.

"Come on Hinata, this is Shikamaru where talking about." Naruto said knowingly.

"Lady Tsunade threw me out." Shikamaru said sitting down with a sigh while leaning his head back.

"Shame, Grandma Tsunade is even worse than Sakura." Naruto laughed while Ino shuddered slightly.

"What did I miss?" Shikamaru asked as he looked at Naruto.

"All borders are secure so far. Sakura demolished almost everything in the north and Temari flattened the forest in the west, but other than that everything is still going smoothly." Naruto said with a sigh.

"That's Temari and Sakura for you." Ino laughed.

"How many of Orochimaru's forces are fighting right now?" Shikamaru asked looking at the number of enemies they were fighting.

"Not all of them, there's some of them missing." Ino replied.

"Can you find out where they are?" Shikamaru asked looking at Ino.

"Yes, but not from in here." Ino said taking of the headset and giving it to another Yamanaka that took her place.

"Alright, go then." Shikamaru said as Ino nodded.

Ino walked out the door taking another shinobi with her just in case of danger. Shikamaru talked again when Ino left the room.

"Let's pull all the members of root and the Anbu from the fight." Shikamaru said as he watched the map with concern.

"What, why? They are some of our strongest fighters." Naruto exclaimed confused.

"I know, but I'm concerned that Orochimaru will attack in the night then we'll be at a big disadvantage because all our shinobi will be depleted of chakra." Shikamaru explained.

"But didn't Temari say he wouldn't attack in night." Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, but we have to be prepared for anything. Orochimaru doesn't like playing by the rules plus if they don't attack at night, we'll have shinobi who is rested then we can launch a raid when they least expect it." Shikamaru said as he looked at Naruto.

"Isn't that playing dirty?" Naruto asked skeptically.

"Depend how you look at it, but this is war Naruto and Orochimaru will win if we play fair because he's definitely not going to play fair." Shikamaru replied with a sigh.

"War has no rules." Gaara said emotionless.

 **xXx**

Footsteps echoed through the empty streets of Konoha as a mysterious woman figure walked calmly through the streets. The sound of explosions droned out her footsteps every now and then, but she didn't even react to them. She was calm and collected, even a little cold and emotionless as she made her way to the battlefield.

She didn't expect to have infiltrated Konoha so easily, but she was always good at infiltration, back in her day that is. Although she didn't want to be here at all, she didn't want to partake in this senseless war. Wars are always so meaningless to her.

But she had no other choice, but to follow orders.

She couldn't believe how much it rained in this village. Back in her village the amount of rain they got in a year, this village got in a day. Her shoulder length hair clung to her gentle face while she walked. She dragged her medium sized fans next to her. These weren't any battle fans, they were lighter and smaller than the normal battle fans.

They were thinner, but still very affective and at their tips they were sharp and shaped like kunai and at their hilts they were connected to each other with a chain. They could be handled like kunai or small twin swords.

"Dearest Rasa is dead, little Gaara is now the Kazekage, Kankurou and his puppets are in the east which only leaves me with Temari... Let the winds be with you and guide you, because my dear, I'll be seeing you soon." The mysterious woman said setting her sights on the west.

* * *

 **A/n: I** _ **finally**_ **got time to fix this chapter. I was already done with it last month, but I only got time to reread it now. But now the musical is done and it was my last one so I'm a little sad about it. Buuuuut I watched a short anime film called hotarubi no mori e and it made my eyes water (that's saying much for someone who started laughing in the fault in our stars), it was soooo sweet and sad. I don't know if I'm satisfied or should cry in a corner.  
**

 **OMG! I'm totally mind blown... I found out that you can insert a horizontal line by the editing thingy. I've been wanting those lines ever since the first chapter. It took me more than a year and 16 chapters to find that son of a bitch :|**

 **Anyway for those wondering... yes this is a filler I don't want the thing that's going to happen to happen just yet, but my dear readers there's still a part that's important for what's going to happen :P**


	18. FIREFLIES

_**"You've got it all. You lost your mind in the sound. There's so much more. You can reclaim your crown. You're in control. Rid of the monsters inside your head. Put all your faults to bed. You can be king again" - King again, Lauren Aquilina  
**_

* * *

Temari felt peaceful. She felt at ease in this blood stained morning. The sun's first ray of light just started to illuminate the room and she could already hear the start of destruction. The sound of fighting and death. Luckily because she fought all day yesterday, she only had to clock in at twelve o'clock. Shikamaru on the other hand had more of a _flexible_ schedule, if you may.

Still Temari felt bound to the bed, like she'll never leave it, but eventually she knew she had to. Temari woke up a while ago and was now just lying in bed watching light stream in the room in Shikamaru's arms. She used his arm as her new pillow while her arm was draped over his stomach and his was over her waist.

Temari turned on her stomach and placed both of her hands under her chin on his chest while her leg went over his. She watched his peaceful face frown a little bit like something was puzzling him. Temari frowned as well, did she wake him on accident. Then suddenly both his arms slid around her waist as his one hand held onto his wrist and in one swift movement he pulled her on his stomach effortlessly.

Temari gasped in surprise, but chuckled softly as his frown vanished and a little smile appeared. No, she didn't wake him. She was still resting her chin on her hands as she watched Shikamaru. She found it strange how she felt so comfortable with someone she only met a few weeks ago.

Well technically she knew him for years, but she couldn't remember anything. She remembered them meeting and having encounters due to her job, but as far as she remembered they were only friends. But her heart was contradicting her mind.

She knew they were more than friends before her amnesia, but she couldn't remember. However she did feel it. Her heart always warmed up whenever Shikamaru entered the room and he was about the only person she would allow to hold her like this. She also noticed the little things he was used to.

She knew he was used to sleeping with her in the bed when she was in his village, he looked way to comfortable sleeping in the shame bed that she did than strangers or friends did. She also noticed the way he watched her when he thought she didn't notice. She saw the longing in his eyes.

She took one of her hands from under her chin and traced the bandage that was wrapped around his stab wound. She was careful not to lay or put too much pressure on his wound. It was still fresh after all. Temari placed her hand under her chin again and yawned.

She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes while listening to his steady heartbeat, it soothed her and helped her block out the sound of chaos and destruction that shrouded the world.

She fell asleep to the rhythmic beat of Shikamaru's heart. She found it funny how she felt safer than she ever did in the past 2 years whenever Shikamaru was around. Temari wouldn't have minded to wake up like this every morning, minus the war of course. She could've stayed like this forever, but like all good things... it had to come to an end.

"Temari." Shikamaru said softly as he stroked her hair with one hand while the other one was still on the small of her back.

Shikamaru knew she wasn't as a heavy sleeper as he was, so it really didn't take much for her to wake up, unlike him.

"Temari, are you awake?" Shikamaru asked studying her as he saw the corner of her mouth lift up into a smirk.

"What stupid question is that?" Temari replied opening her eyes to look at him.

"So you are awake." He laughed as he lifted his head and kissed her on her forehead.

"What's the time?" Temari asked closing her eyes again.

"Nine o'clock." He answered with a sigh as he rested his head back on his pillow.

"You have to get to the office, don't you?" Temari asked with a sigh.

"Yes I do." Shikamaru answered unenthusiastically.

Temari sighed again because that meant she had to get off Shikamaru because he needed to leave, but she didn't want to because she was pretty damn comfortable.

"You need to get off me Temari." Shikamaru said not really sounding like he liked the idea.

"Do I?" Temari said playfully as she opened her eyes again.

"Yes you do." He replied back amused.

"And what if I don't?" Temari said with a smirk as she challenged him.

"Then I guess I'll just have to make you, don't I?" Shikamaru answered with a smirk of his own.

"Oh, is th-" Temari started, but got cut off thanks to Shikamaru.

Shikamaru rolled over, throwing her of him making her land on her back. He used his momentum and rolled on top off her as she laughed.

"Do you remember the time you were staying with me and Neji came to call me in the morning because Naruto wanted to see me... You threatened to cut his eyes out that day." Shikamaru said fondly.

Temari's face grew more serious at the mention of Neji's name. Guilt still ran through her every time she heard his name. She was the one who killed him after all.

"You know I don't remember." Temari answered looking into his warm brown eyes.

Shikamaru didn't answer, he cupped her cheek in his left hand as he brought her face closer to hers. He leaned towards her until they were inches apart, then he kissed her, but this time not on her forehead. Temari's eyes widened as their lips met, but it wasn't long before she melted into to kiss and closed her eyes. She brought her hands to his neck and tangled her fingers in his hair.

"I wanted to kiss you ever since I saw you again." Shikamaru said as he rested his forehead on hers when they parted.

Temari didn't answer she only looked at him with her teal eyes, the eyes that haunted him for two years relentlessly. Shikamaru tore his gaze from her mesmerizing teal eyes and climbed off her and off the bed.

"I'm going to the headquarters, are you coming with me?" Shikamaru asked looking at Temari who was still lying on the bed.

"Why not? I have nothing better to do with myself." Temari shrugged as she too stood up.

They both got ready for the day then left for Naruto's office, grabbing breakfast on their way there.

"Good morning Shikamaru." Ino greeted as they walked in the office.

"Morning Ino." Shikamaru said boredly.

"Morning Temari." Gaara greeted standing near the windows of the office.

"Morning little brother, speaking of brothers where's Kankurou?" Temari asked.

"He's still sleeping." Gaara answered as Temari nodded.

"And speaking of Kages, where's Naruto?" Shikamaru asked.

"He's still sleeping as well." Hinata answered with a smile sitting in the Hokage's chair.

"You're kidding me?" Shikamaru sighed as he rolled his eyes.

Hinata giggled at his response and shook her head. She may not be the Hokage, but maybe she could help them while Naruto was sleeping plus she didn't want to wake him.

"How's it looking Ino?" Shikamaru asked sitting at his usual spot at the map.

"Our troops are currently engaged while our Anbu and root are on standby. The battle doesn't seem to be in favor of either side." Ino reported.

"So Orochimaru isn't using any underhanded tactic?" Shikamaru asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, not that I can tell." Ino said.

"Strange." Temari mused as she took a seat next to Shikamaru.

"Why do you find it strange Temari?" Gaara asked.

"Orochimaru is known as a snake, so why wouldn't he use underhanded tactics?" Shikamaru said with a raised eyebrow as he leaned back in his chair and turned to Gaara.

"My thoughts exactly." Temari said.

"Maybe there isn't a tactic he could use that can help him at the moment." Hinata shrugged.

"No there's always a tactic. I'd give it about a few hours before he makes a move." Temari sighed.

"Did you find anything out about their withdrawal of troops Ino?" Shikamaru asked Ino.

"I found their base of operations, but the missing troops aren't there. They aren't anywhere." Ino said confused.

"Maybe they went back to defend their village." Hinata suggested.

"Somehow I doubt that." Shikamaru said troubled.

"After all it isn't Orochimaru's village in danger, so why would he protect a village that isn't his? They're only his pawns." Temari said with folded arms.

"Send a team consisting of 10 root members to infiltrate their base to gather info or to assassinate a few influential shinobi there if they get a chance." Shikamaru ordered a ninja who nodded then left the room to implement the order.

"Why not send them in the night when it's easier to conceal themselves?" Ino asked.

"They may be harder to spot in the dark..." Shikamaru started.

"Impossible to spot." Ino interrupted with a scoff as she _corrected_ him making him glare at her.

"...but there are more people to stop and possibly kill them. In the day there are fewer people making it easier for them to complete their mission plus people don't simply think of spy's lurking around in the day, but they're also easier to spot in the day." Shikamaru continued.

"It makes me wonder if there isn't an intruder in the village then." Gaara mused catching their attention.

 **xXx**

 _ **Somewhere on a hill in the leaf village:**_

The woman with the linked twin fans sneezed. She scratched her nose puzzling.

"I'm I getting a cold?" She asked herself confused.

"No... That's impossible." She mused looking over the leaf village again.

Biding her time until it was her time to make a move.

 **xXx**

 _ **Back in the Hokage's office:**_

"Wouldn't we have notice something?" Ino asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Not necessarily. There can be an intruder in the village right now without us knowing at all." Shikamaru said as he looked out the window.

"Aren't you worried then?" Temari asked as she looked at him.

"However there could be no one and where just stressing ourselves out." Shikamaru sighed.

"Which is it then? Is there someone or not? Make up your mind dammit." Ino exclaimed irritable.

"I don't know. I haven't heard or seen anything." Shikamaru shrugged.

"You have an IQ of 200, how can you not know?" Ino asked exaggerated.

"I have a high IQ, not psychic powers." Shikamaru answered bluntly.

"Whatever, same thing." Ino grumbled while shikamaru only rolled his eyes in defeat.

"Hey Temari! We should do a memory session again." Ino grinned mischievously.

"After last time, I think we should wait after we win the war." Temari said laughing.

"Staying positive, I see." Hinata giggled.

"But I'm sure it won't happen again." Ino whined.

"Why do you want to see Temari's memories so badly?" Shikamaru asked narrowing his eyes at Ino.

"I'm just curious in seeing how this relationship came to blossom and why your office door is locked so often when Temari is in the village while I know you're in your office _and_ where you disappear of to when she's around." Ino said with a dark gleam in her eyes.

Shikamaru scowled and Gaara adopted a look of curiosity. Temari had no idea what their talking about or what Ino was insinuating at, but it must be bad if it got the calm and collected lazy ass scowling.

"You don't want to know what happens behind that closed door." Hinata mumbled averting her eyes making Shikamaru face drain of color and Gaara to lift his eyebrows, now Temari was curious.

"What was that Hinata?" Ino asked, she wasn't close enough to hear, but Temari, Shikamaru and Gaara was.

"Nothing." Hinata squealed and Shikamaru exclaimed in unison.

"Naruto told you, didn't he?" Shikamaru asked with narrowed eyes as he collected himself.

"He tricked me into looking what was happening." Hinata answered.

"Am I supposed to know something here?" Temari asked confused.

"You'll find out when you get your memories back." Shikamaru smirked amused.

Temari stayed in the office with Shikamaru and her brother and sometimes giving them her opinion and advice until it was time for her to leave. Temari said her goodbyes then left with Shikamaru staring at her as she left, but she didn't miss the slight worry in his eyes when she left.

"Good afternoon Temari." Sai smiled as she arrived on the wall.

"Hey Temari!" Chouji greeted with a smile too, a real one.

"Hey, how have you two been doing so far?" Temari asked with a smile back.

"We've had no problem so far." Chouji said not munching his chips for once.

"That's good then." Temari said her face growing serious.

Sai drew two giant golems and two tigers that jumped into the fray followed by Sai who jumped in himself with his small sword in hand while Chouji became a giant and stomped on the enemy. Temari sighed then also joined the fight. This carried on until late the afternoon when the sun disappeared and the full moon showed her head.

Temari stood on the wall of Konoha leaning on her fan and watched as the enemy forces made their way carefully behind the tree line never turning their back on Konoha, just in case the Leaf stab them in the back like they did to them. The Leaf's shinobi stood guarded until ten minutes after the enemy disappeared.

Only then did Konoha's forces slowly scatter into their separate ways, except Temari. She stood rooted to her spot, watching the horizon. All the shinobi slowly walked away from the destruction that was made by war, until Temari was the only one left.

"You coming Temari?" Chouji asked as he stopped and turned to look at her.

He was walking with Sai to who knew where, she didn't know them good enough to know where they were heading. But if Chouji was the shame as he was back when they were kids, she'll guess he's going to the barbecue place. She didn't know what Sai liked to do, the only thing she knew about him is that he's Ino's boyfriend. Maybe he's heading back to her, who knows.

"You guys go on ahead, I'll catch up." Temari said giving them a reassuring smile.

"If you say so." Chouji shrugged then continued walking with Sai.

Temari watched the horizon intently until something pulled her from her thoughts.

"Mommy! Look at the pretty fireflies!" Temari heard a little kid exclaimed excitedly.

Temari looked away from the firefly that floated in front of her and turned around to see five more fireflies float in the sky. They floated slowly towards her. Temari would've been mesmerized by the fireflies if it wasn't for the fact that they weren't fireflies. She narrowed her eyes at them with a frown plastered on her face.

She didn't know what they were, but they were not fireflies.

The fireflies floated around her then away. Temari looked at them with narrowed eyes as they floated down the wall and into the destroyed clearing. She didn't know what made her follow them, but something compelled her into finding out what they are and where they came from. She placed her fan back in her sash then jumped down the wall.

She walked over the clearing towards the fireflies, never lowering her guard. The fireflies kept floating away as she came closer. They entered the forest which made Temari stop at the tree line. She weighed down all the things that could go wrong when she entered the forest in her mind and decided there's nothing she couldn't handle.

She couldn't have been more wrong...

Temari reluctantly entered the forest and followed the strange glowing things until she came across a beautiful clearing with a little stream flowing through it. She froze as soon as she entered the clearing. Her eyes widened and her body went ice cold.

The fireflies hopped up and down across the clearing until the stopped and became one with the woman standing in the middle of the clearing.

"Impossible..." Temari stuttered out with wide confused eyes.

Eyes that couldn't believe what they were seeing.

"Temari... I've been waiting for one of my children to show up." The woman smiled sweetly at Temari.

"Mother..." She gasped in disbelieve.

This wasn't possible... She wore the standard Sand outfit with a long red sash that was tied around her waists. She had two twin fans on her hip. Her pants were also tight fitting and not loose like the normal pants Shinobi wore.

"Now you can free me my little Temari." Karura said.

"How are you alive?" Temari asked watching her dumbfounded.

Temari couldn't even finish talking when her mother sprang into action, dashing from her spot to Temari. Temari scowled as her mother stopped in front of her then used her momentum to kick Temari in her stomach, hard. Temari went flying in tree coughing blood from the impact the fan had on her back when she smashed into the tree.

"Reanimation jutsu. I have no control Temari, I'm going to come at you with everything I have." Karura said as she dashed at Temari again.

Temari didn't even touch the ground to recover before her mother attacked get again. She was relentless as she kept punching and kicking Temari without letting up, until Temari grabbed her fan from her back and blocked her mother's kick that was aimed at her head.

Temari could see the cracks on her mother's face since she stood so close to her. Karura jumped away from Temari and took her twin fans from her hip.

"I know you can do better than this Temari." Karura said sadly.

"This is a sick joke." Temari spat out with venom in her voice.

"Show me how much you've improved since you were a child." Karura said attacking Temari again.

However Temari never attacked back she only stayed on defense. Temari knew as much as Karura that reanimated shinobi had no chakra limit. Karura won't tire, but Temari would. Temari jumped away from her mother, exhausted.

"I didn't know you could fight this well Mother." Temari panted watching her mother, waiting to block her next attack.

"Well I didn't meet your father by walking down the street." Karura said chuckling slightly, making Temari smile, but Karura's smile fell as she opened her twin fans.

"Temari, get out the way!" Karura exclaimed as she swung her fans.

Temari swung her fan as well to neutralize the attack, but she soon realized her mistake. Two tornadoes appeared and swallowed Temari's attack, making them even bigger. Temari scowled as the tornadoes swallowed her as well. The gust was too strong for Temari to move, making her helpless. Temari's eyes widened as she felt the slashing current head towards the earth bellow.

Temari braced for impact and grunted as she smashed right into the ground followed by the tornadoes. Luckily her fan wasn't on her back like when she hit the tree. However the impact made Temari loose her grip on her fan making it stumble away from her reach. Temari was still pinned to the ground because of the tornadoes force, but her mother could still move freely.

Temari's eyes widened in panic as she saw her mother close her fans and run to her. Karura scowled as she jumped into the air above Temari with her twin blades above her head. She brought them down on a helpless Temari. Temari took a sharp intake of breath as she prepared herself for the attack.

However Karura's eyes widened and her attack never came. Temari saw a shadow wrap itself around her mother's ankle then threw her in the air and into a tree. Karura's tornadoes dissipated when she slammed into the tree. Shikamaru grabbed a surprised Temari's arm and pulled her up, handing her fan back to her.

"Shikamaru, what are you doing here?" Temari asked surprised.

"I saw those things that looked like fireflies and asked Ino to check it out since we were still at the office. That's when she saw you battle with your mother, so I decided to lend you a hand." Shikamaru smiled.

"I could've handled it." Temari answered looking away, but he knew she couldn't.

Shikamaru's face turned serious as he looked at Karura. She was struggling to fight against her mother. He knew Temari could've done a lot better, but she was holding back and not attacking at all.

"Temari look away." Shikamaru said sternly.

He knew she didn't want to see her mother get hurt, otherwise she would've attacked already. He's been there with Asuma.

"Wait, Shikamaru!" Temari exclaimed with wide eyes, she knew what he was about to do.

She's going to hate him for this, but it as to be done... Shikamaru used his shadow to trap a protesting Temari and make her turn around.

"Shikamaru stop!" Temari begged desperately, she didn't want to lose her mother again.

Karura dashed at Shikamaru with the slightest of smiles while Shikamaru formed more shadows. He used his shadow tendrils and made some of them go through her arms, some through her legs and some trough her body...

She gasped and looked at her pierced body, he got her in all her vital points. She looked back up at Shikamaru and smiled, with her body weakened she could regain control again.

"Thank you." Karura said softly while Shikamaru nodded, she was glad her daughter didn't have to do this.

"Mother!" Temari cried out desperately, but her mother didn't reply.

Shikamaru released his jutsu on Karura then Temari. Temari spun around and looked at her mother with wide eyes. Karura seemed mesmerized by her decaying skin that floated up into the midnight sky as the cracks in her skin became bigger.

The full moon illuminated the calm leafs and the dancing blades of grass brilliantly. The moonlight didn't just light up the forest and gave it life, but it also made her mother's cracked skin all the more beautiful.

The delicate skin that came off her unnatural body was illuminated by the moonlight and made the tiny pieces look like fireflies dancing through the sky until they became one with the starry sky above them. Her skin was the fireflies all along.

"Mom!" Temari cried again, she was losing her mother all over again.

Temari dropped her huge battle fan and ran to her mother. She always loved her mother, she canceled out her father's cruelty and when she died the balance was all wrong.

"Temari, wait!" Shikamaru hissed as he grabbed her arm.

"Let go!" Temari screamed as she jerked her arm out his grasp and ran straight to her mother.

Her mother turned her head from her firefly hand to Temari and watched her with sad eyes.

"Stop, Temari! She's rigged. You touch her, you die." Shikamaru said gritting his teeth as he caught Temari around her waist and restrained her arms.

"Let go!" Temari cried as she flailed around in his arms.

"He's right my child." Karura said with a smile.

"It was a backup plan for exactly this situation. My skin was coated in poison, that's why it could detach from my body at will, but as soon as my skin start decaying it kills anyone who touches it, while I slowly wither away. Orochimaru especially saw to this so if one of my children where to fight and beat me they would die." Her mother explained sadly looking at her illuminated skin.

"No. Please don't go. Don't leave us again." Temari said hoarsely as tears streamed down her face.

Temari didn't love a lot of people, but she loved her brothers and mother dearly and it killed her when her mother died and when she nearly lost her brothers. It also didn't get easier seeing her mother disappear from her life again.

"Temari, I'm so proud of how you and your brothers turned out after I died and I want you to know that I love you. I never wanted to participate in this war and I also _never_ wanted to hurt you or your brothers." Her mother said as she lowered her firefly hands.

"I know. I love you too." Temari sniffed as she stopped flailing in Shikamaru arms while her legs went numb.

There where thousands of fireflies dancing around them and they only increased by the minute while her mother became less by the second.

"You're names Shikamaru, right?" Karura asked turning her attention at Shikamaru.

"Yes." He replied as he supported Temari whose legs went weak.

"When you all disappear, please find my baby girl again and take care of her." She said with a smile as the last of her dissipated into beautiful fireflies that lit up the clearing.

"Of course I will, but what do you mean by disappear?" Shikamaru asked surprised, but he was ignored.

"I'll always be with you Temari." Her mother's voice whispered for the last time.

Temari's legs caved in as tears streamed down her face. Shikamaru sank to the ground with her as she cried. She turned around and buried her face in his chest as she clutched his shirt. Shikamaru held her tight and stroked her head calmly as she wept into his chest. The fireflies continued to dance around them while some of them floated upwards and became stars.

They stayed in the clearing until there were only a handful of fireflies left. Shikamaru knew Temari was exhausted, she had been fighting since twelve o'clock and the loss of her mother left her emotionally tired so he hoisted her up on his back without her saying a word.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his back as he walked back to the village with her. She had calmed down considerably and wasn't crying anymore. Her eyes where just empty and sad now. She turned her head back to where her mother was as she watched the last of the fireflies disappear among the stars. Never to return again.

She knew this form of her mother was unnatural and her soul had to return to wherever it came from, but it was hard losing a mother again. Shikamaru silently walked with Temari on his back as the clearing went dark. Something was still bothering him about all this. What where they missing?

 _What did she mean with when we all disappear..._

* * *

 **A/N: Yaaaay I updated :) sorry for the long wait I was watching fairy tail the whole time, but then the wifi ran out. So now we don't have wifi, but then I started reading the whole time. So I decided I should stop with this nonsense and start writing the story again. The last part was inspired by hotarubi no mori e though, I still love that short movie. Also do yourself a favor and watch the amv you can be king again on youtube, its beautiful (still thinking of hotarubi no mori e).**

 **But I finally figured out what I wanna do with the story after the wars done and how this story will end. So I'm excited about that. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and feel free to leave a comment :P**


	19. PASS INTO OBLIVION

_**"If we don't rise we fall, there is a war inside. Can you see the bullets fly? Can you hear the battle cry?" Rise or Fall, The Rigs  
**_

* * *

It was the fourth day of war and the weather was getting colder by the day. The pleasant warm breeze was slowly turning to a cold one, biting at any exposed skin. It was getting harder to wake up in the mornings and Temari now pulled the blanket up to her chin when she slept. She also noticed Shikamaru holding her tighter when they slept, guess he was feeling the winter creeping closer as well.

There was sand troops that was supposed to have arrived yesterday, but still, on the fourth day of war there was no sign of them. It's like they disappeared into thin air, but how could an entire army disappear without a trace. Something strange was happening.

The mechanical devil on the bedside table next to Temari began screaming, causing her to growl in irritation and smack the thing harder than what was necessary.

"I think you broke my alarm clock." Shikamaru mumbled sleepily.

"Why do you even have one if you just continue to sleep?" Temari growled irritated.

"Because otherwise I don't wake up." He mumbled his reply.

"Is this what you call waking up?" Temari asked as she turned around in Shikamaru's arms to look at his sleeping face.

"Yes." He said his eyes still closed, obviously still sleeping.

She wondered if he was sleep talking, was it actually possible for Shikamaru to hold a conversation with her while he slept…

"Well I'm getting up now." Temari said as she untangled herself from Shikamaru who groaned in displeasure.

Temari got up and gathered her clothes before heading to the shower while Shikamaru pulled the blankets over his face. Temari ate after she showered and got ready for the day. She clipped her fan on her back as she headed back to Shikamaru's room.

"I'm heading to the office, I want to ask Gaara something." Temari said leaning against the door to the bedroom they both shared now.

"Alright I'll meet you there." Shikamaru mumbled, making her smile.

"I'll come fetch you if you're late and still sleeping." She said amused before she turned around and left.

 **xXx**

Temari greeted everyone as she entered the office and walked over to Gaara who sat next to Naruto at his desk.

"Do you know what happened to the sand troops that Baki sent over to Konoha?" Temari asked standing before Gaara.

"No, I have no idea. They should have arrived yesterday. I'll send a message to Baki asking him where they are." Gaara answered, something in his tone informing Temari something was bothering him as well.

Gaara used his jutsu to form a message with his sand. Kankurou walked over to the window since he was the closest and opened it. The sand bundled together then sped off to Suna. Kankurou closed the window after the sand was out, since the wind was cold.

The door opened hastily followed by a shinobi holding a scroll.

"What is it?" Naruto asked as the ninja burst through the door.

"It's an urgent message for the Kazekage, sir." The ninja replied, panting as he jogged to the front of Naruto's desk then bowed in respek.

The ninja obviously ran all the way here. He returned to his full length then turned to Gaara and gave the scroll to Gaara, bowed again then left closing the door behind him. Gaara opened the scroll while Kankurou leaned over his shoulder to read it as well and Temari just stood behind them, but read it as well.

However what the scroll contained caused Temari to scowl, Kankurou to straighten up tensely and Gaara's face to darken. Temari knew what'll happen next, but not what'll happen even before that. Nobody could've prepared for what'll happen next.

"What's it say?" Naruto asked with sobered curiosity.

 **xXx**

Temari walked out the office, she needed to tell Shikamaru something and he was late, not that she expected him to be on time. She knew he liked to take his sweet time, but as she turned the corner of the hall she saw Shikamaru approaching.

"I was just on my way to come get you." Temari said amused as she walked over to him.

"Guess like I saved you the trouble, troublesome woman." Shikamaru answered back.

"Uhhm Shikamaru..." Temari started unsure while looking away, she didn't really want to tell him because by telling him it meant that it was going to happen and she didn't want it to happen…

"What is it?" Shikamaru asked looking at her.

"I need to go Shikamaru." Temari said in a forced voice.

"Well I don't expect you to stay at the office all day." Shikamaru said confused as he shrugged.

"No, I mean I'm going back to Suna." Temari said perplexed not meeting his eyes.

She didn't want to leave...

Shikamaru was at a loss of words. She was returning to Suna so soon. She was leaving again. It felt like he just got her back and now she has to go. It was unfair to him.

"Why?" Shikamaru asked softly hiding the disappointment in his voice.

"Orochimaru is attacking Suna as well." Temari replied looking at Shikamaru.

"Suna is capable of protecting themselves with Gaara as their Kazekage." Shikamaru said, he wanted her to stay.

"Suna is my village Shikamaru and Konoha is yours, I need to go home." Temari said, why was leaving him hurting her so much.

They stood in silence, facing each other in the halls of the Hokage mansion. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on top of her head.

"Home is here." Shikamaru said softly on top of her head.

"No Shikamaru, this is your home, my home is back in Suna." She replied trying her best to hold her tears at bay.

They've been through so much.

"You always had a home here, you just don't remember it yet." Shikamaru said, he never wanted to let her go again.

He always managed to let her go in the past, somehow, but since her disappearance it was nearly impossible.

"Maybe, but I'm a shinobi of the sand and right now my village needs me." Temari said softly wrapped in Shikamaru's arms.

"I want you to stay Temari." Shikamaru said holding her tighter, like he's afraid he'll never see her again.

"I know Shikamaru, but I can't." Temari said choking up, she never liked seeing him sad.

"How will you get your memories back when you go back to Suna?" Shikamaru asked making Temari hesitate before answering.

"I won't." She said with a frown as Shikamaru lifted his head off Temari's to look straight into her beautiful teal eyes.

She looked up into his sad brown eyes as he unwrapped his arms from her shoulders and brought them to her neck caressing her cheek in the process. He tilted her head upwards as he leaned down slowly towards her. Temari's lips parted slightly as her eye lids closed, but not completely while Shikamaru leaned nearer. His lips where inches away from hers, brushing against hers softly. Testing her patience. Teasing her.

Temari grew impatient and closed the gap crashing her lips onto his as her hands found his chest. The kiss lasted until they had to part to breathe again.

"When are you leaving?" Shikamaru asked softly leaning his forehead against hers.

"In ten minutes." Temari answered softly.

"That's too soon." Shikamaru said sadly.

"I need to go Shikamaru." Temari said as she stepped back and Shikamaru let go of her reluctantly.

"I know." Shikamaru said with a disappointed sigh as Temari walked away slowly to his apartment where all her things where while he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

Shikamaru watched Temari as she walked away, but she didn't walk far before she stopped making Shikamaru frown in confusion. Temari grunted in annoyance before she turned around and ran back to Shikamaru. She ran straight into him wrapping her arms around his neck as she kissed him, this time more intense and desperate than the first tender kiss.

Shikamaru's hands slid across Temari's hips as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Temari broke the kiss and panted.

"This time I really need to go." Temari said.

"Stay safe." Shikamaru sighed still holding her.

"Same to you lazy ass." She smiled.

"I love you troublesome woman." Shikamaru said with a small smile.

"I know." Temari replied with a grin as she slipped out of his grasp.

It was like sand slipping through his fingers. She was leaving again.

But before she left she turned around once more, her eyes wide like she could feel something bad about to happen.

"What's wrong Temari?" Shikamaru asked alerted.

"Something's wrong Shikamaru." Temari said uneasy.

Shikamaru wanted to say something, to tell her everything was going to be all right, to protect her... But what happened next, assured him nothing was going to be all right. Temari became blurred and at the edges she started disappearing and in a blink of an eye she vanished out of existence... She was gone...

Shikamaru gaped at where she was with wide eyes, filled with fear. He didn't know what happened to her and if she was okay. Not knowing if she was save was enough to drive Shikamaru to insanity.

He stood for a long while staring at the spot she vanished before he clenched his fists and his expression turned to one of anger. Shikamaru stormed into Naruto's office.

"I'm going to kill that son of a bitch!" Shikamaru exclaimed furiously, startling everyone.

Nobody has ever seen him this riled up.

"Calm down Shikamaru, who are you talking about?" Ino asked confused and slightly uneasy.

"Orochimaru!" He said pacing around in the office.

"What happened?" Naruto asked seriously.

"Temari vanished." Shikamaru said as he stopped pacing.

"What do you mean vanished? She was here a second ago." Gaara asked standing up, slight anger evident in his voice.

"One minute she was right in front of me and the next she was gone." Shikamaru scowled.

"Shikamaru I know what you're thinking and you're not marching into Orochimaru's camp to kill him. Let's not jump to conclusions just yet." Naruto sighed, thinking things through for once.

"You would've done the same." Shikamaru shot back.

Naruto wanted to defend himself, but Ino cut him of short.

"Shut up Naruto! Hinata what's wrong?" Ino exclaimed, worry laced in her voice.

Naruto spun around to the pregnant midnight blue haired woman behind him. Her face was pale and she looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"I'm sure it's nothing, I'm just a little bit nauseous, that's all." Hinata said uneasy, not even attempting a fake reassuring smile.

"It's happening." Shikamaru said softly, he knew he was right even if he didn't want to be.

Hinata began to blur while Naruto sprinted to her.

"Hinata!" Naruto yelled desperately as he reached out to her.

But it was already too late...

Her edges started vanishing and just before Naruto could grab her she disappeared just like Temari did. Naruto tilted forward in his attempt to grab Hinata, but fell thought the air where Hinata was supposed to be standing then landed on the floor.

"Hinata!" He yelled again as he jumped up and looked frantically around the room.

He was too late.

His expression darkened when his blue eyes couldn't find Hinata.

"We're marching to Orochimaru's camp right now, I'm going to kill that bastard!" Naruto growled dangerously as he walked to the door.

"See, I told you so. Ino stay here." Shikamaru said when he saw her standing up.

"Kankurou, go find Sakura and lady Tsunade and tell them what's happening. I want them to find out why they vanished." Shikamaru said.

"Please would've been nice." Kankurou scoffed, but sprang into action anyway.

"I'm coming too." Gaara said calmly following Naruto and Shikamaru to the door.

"The more the merrier." Shikamaru replied.

Shikamaru, Naruto and Gaara marched to the north. They didn't give a fuck about the fact that they had to manage a war and if one of them died a nation will fall into ruins. If you take a Kage's pregnant girlfriend away, you had to face the consequences. The wrath of a Hokage.

They climbed on the wall and descended to the battle below. As soon as their presence where noticed, everybody stopped for a while before the enemy dashed for the Kages and the strategist while the leaf shinobi tried to defend them.

"Seventh, what are you doing here?!" Yamato yelled as he fended the enemy off, he still found it weird calling his former pupil Hokage.

He was such a goofy kid… And look at him now. He was the leader of their village. From being shunned and disrespected to being the Hokage and most respected man in the village. Naruto walked with authority in the front of their group of three and had orange chakra swirling around him from rage, Gaara walked on the right side of Naruto with his sand floating around him while more sand formed at his feet and Shikamaru just walked on Naruto's left with his hand in his pockets and a bored expression, but Yamato could see anger lingering in his eyes.

Yamato was slightly disappointed with Shikamaru… Naruto had chakra swirling around him and Gaara had Sand floating around him while Shikamaru just stuffed his hands in his pockets with nothing spectacular swirling around him. Yamato had to admit that it would've looked pretty cool if Shikamaru had shadows rising from the ground that moved around him all agitated... But hey this was Shikamaru he was talking about, he never did anything if he absolutely had to plus he wasn't the showy type like Naruto…

"Where's Sasuke?" Naruto asked noticing the absence of his friend on the battlefield.

"I don't know. I haven't seen him all day." Yamato replied.

The shinobi tried to protect their Hokage, but they were overwhelmed by the sheer number of the enemy, however those of the enemy who got through was swallowed by Gaara's sand that was on the floor around them and for those who through weapons...

Either Shikamaru's shadow tendrils through them back, Naruto's chakra tails swallowed them or Gaara's sand deflected them. They were untouchable. They marched right into the enemy's base killing or knocking anyone out who stood in their way, followed by the Leaf's forces behind them.

Shikamaru, Gaara and Naruto marched into the tent Orochimaru sat alone in, wearing that irritating smirk of his. That smirk that knew everything. Naruto walked over to him and grabbed him by his color.

"Where is she?" Naruto exclaimed furiously.

"Whatever do you mean my boy?" Orochimaru smiled smugly.

"Where is Hinata?!" Naruto gritted out.

"Why do you think I would possibly know?" Orochimaru asked irritated.

"Because you're always behind everything!" Naruto exclaimed growling at him.

"I don't know where the Hyuga is, the only Hyuga I'm keeping tab on is the one dear Temari killed." Orochimaru smirked amused.

"Neji?" Naruto gasped.

"Yes, he's currently locking horns with Tenten and Rock Lee." Orochimaru chuckled.

"You're despicable." Naruto spit out, like the words where bitter.

"What happened to Temari?" Shikamaru asked from Naruto's side.

"Temari's missing?" Orochimaru asked with mock surprise.

"Yes, she vanished in thin air before me." Shikamaru said keeping his bored demeanor.

"Aahh, so they're disappearing as well." Orochimaru smiled pleased with himself.

"What do you mean?" Shikamaru asked a frown forming on his face, but a answer was already forming in the back of his mind.

"People everywhere are starting to vanish everywhere and I'm not responsible for it." Orochimaru said like its common sense, which irritated Naruto to no end.

"How do we know that's true?" Gaara asked void of emotion.

"Haven't you noticed the gap in my army by now? Or how they seem to go missing without a trace?" Orochimaru asked rhetorically with a smiled, Shikamaru actually did notice that a few days ago.

It's why he asked Ino and Root to investigate.

"It's like they passed into oblivion." Orochimaru said amused, smirking when they didn't answer.

"We thought they were at Suna." Shikamaru scowled.

"No my dear boy, they vanished as well, Kabuto along with them." Orochimaru said turning serious.

"How do you know they aren't dead?" Shikamaru asked.

"I'm still here, am I not? If Kabuto was dead I would've dissipated along with him, but I'll soon disappear when Kabuto wake up and realize he has no need of me anymore. _He_ wants to take over Konoha and doesn't want to risk me taking over. It's like everyone with cursed marks or people who had cursed marks started disappearing and after that I'm assuming normal people will start to disappear as well." Orochimaru said with a sigh.

That means Temari was in fact alive, he just had to find her again. But no matter what, he was going to find her. However Shikamaru was worried about her, winter was coming fast and surviving in the cold was hard. Winter conditions in the unforgiving nature were harsh. It was the worse time to be stuck out in the wilderness alone, without anything. Shikamaru hoped she woke up in a village where she would be safe. He knew some villages held a grudge against her.

But Shikamaru knew she was strong. However what about Hinata, being stuck wherever she is could increase changes for a miscarriage. Especially in harsh conditions.

And if that happened, Naruto would be devastated.

"Then why did Hinata disappear?" Naruto asked his rage disappearing into slight hopelessness.

"Maybe there was something special about her that other people didn't have, I don't know boy." Orochimaru said irritated.

Shikamaru scowled, maybe it was because of her pregnancy or maybe it was of her Kekkei Genkei. He couldn't pinpoint it until he had more info on these disappearances.

Just then Orochimaru's skin started to flake and he was slowly starting to return to where he belonged, with the dead.

"Looks like Kabuto woke up." Orochimaru said irritated and bitter, but soon he was no more.

Orochimaru was gone once more.

"Good riddance." Shikamaru scoffed, he strongly disliked that guy.

 **xXx**

Neji finished off his opened, his comrade from the Leaf. He hated what he was doing, but knew he had no choice in the matter. He just prayed he didn't run into any of his friends. But destiny was not his friend. His gaze fell on the last person he hoped to encounter while his will was stripped away from him.

It was funny because it was also the person he wanted to see the most and the person he missed the most of all and for a moment he just watched her. Taking in all her glory. He watched how she fought against her opponent. How she moved. How she expertly wielded her weapon. How she used her enemies weapons against them. He watched Tenten.

He prayed that somebody would come to her aid because she wasn't going to defeat him alone, and not because she wasn't strong enough. Neji knew Tenten was strong. His feet moved unwillingly. They moved to their next target. He called out to Tenten to warn her of his presence. She turned around and as soon as her innocent brown eyes fell on him they widened. They widened at the sight of what she had lost.

"Neji..." She gasped as her eyes started to tear up and her grip on her wooden pool turned lax, but not from relieved.

On the contrary, they turned numb from grieve. Fresh wounds being ripped further open.

"I don't have control Tenten." Neji said.

The last thing he wanted to do was to hurt or possibly kill the only woman he ever seemed to love.

"I know." She said sadly as her gaze lowered.

"Don't take your eyes of me." Neji warned.

He knew she knew better than to look away from an enemy...

She quickly looked back up again, a few tears now escaping her eyes as her grip tightened on her wooden pole she wielded again. Neji activated his Byakugan, facing Tenten against his will. Tenten stood ready for an attack, but as soon as his Byakugan was activated his already bitter expression turned grimmer and to one of absolute shock.

"Tenten..." He gasped, too shocked to even think of attacking, even if he was controlled like a puppet.

His body turned ice cold and his mind blanked.

"What? What is it?" Tenten asked uneasiness seeping into her, she was queasy all morning long, but suddenly she became more nauseous than ever from his uncharacteristic action.

He was always cool and collected, but right now he looked as if he'd seen a ghost. However Seeing Neji back from the dead was too much for Tenten to handle right now.

"You're pregnant Tenten." Neji gasped out looking straight at her stomach with his Byakugan, well that explained her sudden nausea…

"What?" She whispered with wide eyes, this can't be happening.

Yep, this is definitely too much for Tenten to handle right now...

"Tenten move!" Neji roared as his feet began to run on their own.

Tenten was in a state of shock, she couldn't get herself to move. Neji wanted nothing more than to just hold her and tell her everything was going to be okay, but he couldn't, instead he was running to her too kill her. Luckily Neji's prayer has been answered for once. Fate didn't completely hate him.

Lee came flying in from nowhere, landing a hard kick to Neji's side that sent him flying away from Tenten.

"You okay Tenten?" Lee asked looking back at his team mate.

"No." She gasped out shaking her head, her wooden pole clattered to the ground as she sunk to her knees with tears streaming down her face.

The pregnancy finally made Tenten understand why she was struggling so much to keep her emotions in check. Lee didn't answer he simply turned around to face Neji who recovered from his attack. Team Gai was reunited once again. Lee stood in a defensive position as well as Neji, neither daring to attack first. Neither willing to hurt each other. But in the end Neji made the first attack, knowing Lee wasn't going to.

The fight between the comrades dragged on with Tenten sitting on the sidelines because every time she wanted to help they would both tell her to stay out of it. Both having different reasons for doing so. She did however think of just settling on throwing kunai or senbons, but she couldn't get herself to do it.

Lee had taken of the weights on his legs to increase his already fast attacks, but even though Lee could now land hits on Neji, he could still manage to block Lee and land a few hits of his own. This fight would last a while, both of them where extremely skilled in their own expertise. Tenten gripped one of her many kunai and stood up. She was sick of this. Tenten took her time waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

She knew Neji would see the kunai coming from a mile away and easily dodge it. That's why she had to wait for a moment where he couldn't dodge it even if he did see it coming. Neji never left himself open for attacks, but Tenten had spent a lot of time training with him. She knew exactly where he couldn't help but leave openings after jutsus.

For enemies, those openings would be nearly impossible to hit if they even realized them. But for someone who knew his fighting style like the back of their hand and knew where to look and when to hit, it was possible. The easiest opening was right after his rotation when he is recovering from spinning his head off.

Tenten's heart dropped as she watched Neji going into his rotation to block the barrage of attacks Lee threw at him. Neji's rotation stopped Lee's attacks and threw him back several feet. Tenten stopped breathing as she threw the Kunai. The Kunai left her delicate hand and flew straight at the sky blue dome that Tenten knew would dissipate any second.

Her hands went numb when Neji's dome disappeared and he tried countering his own momentum after his jutsu. Neji saw the kunai approaching, but he didn't have enough time to block it. The Kunai plunged straight into Neji's heart with a sickening thud, making him stagger back. It was the killing blow.

"I'm sorry." Tenten said as she cried.

"I'm proud of you Tenten." Neji said smiling warmly at her.

However Tenten suddenly started feeling dizzy and her nausea returned. The world around her was spinning and she fell into a deadly silence as a frown formed on her face. Neji didn't have a lot of time left, but he had enough time to watch Tenten disappear from existence.

"Tenten!" Neji exclaimed with shock as he looked around frantically.

How can she just disappear... Something was wrong. Neji had been gone from the world of the living a few weeks now, but he knew this wasn't normal.

"What happened?" Lee asked gaping at the empty spot Tenten stood.

Lee's question just confirmed it for Neji.

"Tenten!' Neji exclaimed again looking for her, but even her chakra signature was gone and he was slowly losing grip on this own superficial life.

"Lee, swear to me you'll find Tenten! Keep her save no matter what, because I no longer can." Neji said solemnly looking into Lee's big eyes just before he disappeared as well, but not to the same place Tenten did.

"I swear to you Neji, I will not rest until I find her! I'll keep her save in your place!" Lee exclaimed with a fist as tears streamed down his face.

Lee now stood in the middle of a battlefield, alone. Both his comrades now gone. One returned to the afterlife and the other one missing without a trace. Even though Neji was already dead, in less than an hour Lee had lost both of his closest friends. 

* * *

**A/N: Heeyy guys! It's me again, I just read the new fairy tail chapter and I'm like yeeeeeees! I absolutely loved it when Gray appeared and he was all vengeful and now I'm fan girling all around my house so my family thinks I finally lost it (but I did write a math exam today, so it makes reasonable sense plus for some reason I threw up this morning (now I keep smelling pro-nutro everywhere I go and its absolutely disgusting... :| ))**

 **Anyway I really like this chapter and I actually got the idea for the last part when I replied to a comment from a reader on wattpad :'D Anyway I hope you guys liked the chapter and remember to comment :P I love it when you comment! This chapter was especially for all you NejiTen fans : P**


	20. Disappearances

_**All around me are familiar faces. Worn out places, worn out faces. Bright and early for their daily races. Going nowhere, going nowhere" - Mad World, Michael Andrews feat. Gary Jules**_

* * *

"What's your update Sakura?" Naruto asked as he entered his office followed by Shikamaru and Gaara.

Naruto knew she was already there. He could sense her chakra. She was talking to Ino at the bubble they used to monitor the war. Sakura looked stressed and lines of worry were edged on her forehead.

"There has..." Sakura started as she turned her attention to Naruto, but got interrupted.

"Tenten disappeared!" Lee yelled as he stormed into the office.

"Tenten?" Ino asked confused.

"Yes!" Lee exclaimed.

"As I was saying... There has been several reports of missing pregnant woman throughout the Leaf village who went missing, vanishing right before their eyes. Anko, Sasuke, Temari, Hinata and Tenten are among the missing." Sakura replied worried.

"Sasuke disappeared, when?" Naruto asked seriously.

"This morning, when he was walking me to the hospital." Sakura said blushing, looking away.

Naruto and Ino got dangerous glints in their eyes.

"Oh..." Naruto and Ino said in unison with amused voices.

"Hinata and I was walking home yesterday night and you know what we saw Ino?" Naruto said slyly.

"Oh no." Sakura groaned.

"No Naruto, what did you see?" Ino asked just as slyly as Naruto did.

"Well, we were walking home and we saw Sasuke staying the night at Sakura's house." Naruto smirked amused.

"It's not like that!" Sakura exclaimed waving her hands in front of her.

"Hinata, whom is pregnant with your child, has vanished and you're teasing Sakura." Shikamaru said bluntly.

"Thank you Shikamaru." Sakura said.

"Anyway getting serious again, why did Tenten disappear?" Ino asked.

"I have no idea... The pattern so far is only pregnant woman and people with cursed mark or people who had it." Shikamaru said confused.

"Could it be that she's pregnant like the rest? Because I know she doesn't or didn't have a curse mark." Sakura asked stressed.

"Not that I'm aware of." Lee answered.

"Is Anko pregnant too?!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed in shock.

"No you idiot! She has a curse mark!" Sakura yelled angrily as she whacked him over his head making the whole room flinch except Gaara and Ino.

"Have any of you realized that we've never seen her activating her curse mark before..." Shikamaru pointed out as his curiosity got the best of him.

"Yeah... Now that you mention it I've never seen it before..." Naruto said scratching head.

"Well that doesn't matter right now, what matters is that people are disappearing one by one... How long will it be before we go missing as well? What will happen to the village when our Hokage goes missing?" Sakura said crossing her arms.

The room grew quiet and the atmosphere turned solemn.

"What do we do Shikamaru?" Naruto said seriously.

"I don't know Naruto." Shikamaru answered.

They had no idea who was doing this. They didn't know why this was happening and they didn't know how to stop it. They couldn't do anything to stop the disappearances. Not without any information. Shikamaru found himself wondering every now and then where Temari was. Was she okay?

He knew she still had the Chakra stone he gave her and he had watched his shadow grow to the North numerous times, but he couldn't search for her because he had to stay in the village. She could handle herself, but the village couldn't run itself. He would've just left Naruto to run the village, but he could disappear at any time. Then there'll be no one.

"Well there's still a war at our front door, so let's focused on that for now." Naruto sighed breaking the silence.

"Right, I'll be going then." Sakura said seriously as she walked out the room and to the battlefield.

She fought in the war every now and then, since she as huge strength behind her. She's an asset. That's why Shizune and Tsunade are at the hospital. They run things while Sakura demolish everything in her path, but Sakura still reports to the hospital to heal people and run the place.

Everyone went on with their daily routines while the war started shifting in their favor, thanks to the disappearing problem. The odds have shifted to Konoha's favor because of the fact that most of the enemy is disappearing. For once the curse mark worked in Konoha's favor, sort of.

Shikamaru unlocked the door to his apartment and entered his vast apartment. His apartment felt lifeless and cold, and it wasn't just because of the approaching winter. Is apartment was empty and drained of the warmth Temari brought. It left when she disappeared.

Shikamaru closed the door behind him and stood in the dark. His apartment looked lonely to him now. Someone could barely tell Temari was ever there. However the few flowers she liked to bring home was still standing in glasses around the apartment and some of her things and clothes was still packed in places she made for herself. Other than that it was like she was never even there.

Shikamaru sighed. He was home and alone again. He dropped his things on the couch then went to the kitchen to make himself some food. After that he showered then plopped down onto his bed. He just laid there staring at the roof until sleep finally took him away to a better place. A place where nobody died and everybody was together and happy.

The next morning Shikamaru woke to a chilly morning. After he ate and got dressed he headed back to the office.

"You're here earlier than I expected Shikamaru." Naruto said with a smile as he entered, but stress was evident in his smile.

"Well I have nothing better to do at my place." Shikamaru shrugged.

"I guess not." Naruto replied, but he didn't miss the troublesome gleam in his eyes.

"Just let it go Naruto." Shikamaru sighed while Naruto just pouted.

"Let's get to the matter at hand then, Shino as well as Shizune has been reported missing today, so far." Ino said seriously.

"All the pregnant woman the hospital as record of is gone as well." Sakura informed.

"If we place everyone in a category we'll have people with curse marks, pregnant woman, women, men, the elderly and children. It seems like everyone with curse marks and woman who is pregnant is now gone. The disappearances have now moved on to men and woman in general." Shikamaru said stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"It would seem so." Gaara said from the corner.

"I will be going back to Suna, I'm worried about my village. I apologies that Suna couldn't be of any help in the war." Gaara said as he pushed himself of the wall and walked to Naruto.

"Travel safely." Naruto said as he shook Gaara's hand.

"I wish you the best of luck in your situation." Gaara said as he nodded and left, probably to get Kankurou first then leave the leaf village.

"Good news is that the majority of Orochimaru's forces has disappeared making us the majority now. We are successfully pushing them back." Ino cheered.

"But at what cost. How many lives did we lose to succeed?" Shikamaru said with a sigh.

"At least we're winning now." Naruto said solemnly while Shikamaru nodded.

"How does it look Ino?" Shikamaru asked looking at her.

"We..." She started, but stopped abruptly looking confused with wide eyes as she looked at the ground.

"Oh no..." Sakura gasped.

And just like that Ino disappeared. The papers in her hands fluttered to the ground as the hand that held them disappeared into thin air. However Ino's disappearance unnerved most of the people in the room.

"That's just great." Shikamaru sighed irritated.

"You don't have to sound so irritated Shikamaru. Aren't you worried?" Sakura asked in a scolding tone while glaring at him slightly.

"Of course I am." Shikamaru said rubbing his temple.

The room was quite with one question dancing in everyone's minds. Whose next...

"Ichiro, take over while Ino is gone." Shikamaru said feeling really shallow for replacing his friend so quickly, the man nodded then took her place.

After Temari disappeared days and nights passed while people kept disappearing, but they couldn't do a thing about it. However Shikamaru did have a suspicion that someone was pulling the strings behind these disappearances, he just didn't know who or why.

"I'm going out, I'll be back." Shikamaru said as he stood up.

He was worried about Mirai and Kurenai. He still took it upon himself to keep them safe. Shikamaru left the office and walked to the south where Mirai and Kurenai were stationed at, but as he neared the south side of the village he heard explosions, but not explosions outside the village. Explosions inside the village, which meant a gennin was engaged in battle.

Shikamaru broke into a sprint as he ran to the explosions and when the battle finally came to his line of sight he scowled. Not this again...

"Asuma." Shikamaru said feeling conflicted.

He didn't know if he was glad or angry by seeing Asuma reanimated again. Shikamaru looked for who was fighting him and of course it had to be Mirai and Kurenai. Mirai was covered in scratches and dirt and stood gaping at Asuma while Kurenai stood in a defensive position facing Asuma in front of Mirai.

Asuma looked just as displeased as Kurenai did with their situation, but by the look of Mirai's shocked form Kurenai must've told her that he was her father.

"Well ain't this some family reunion, ay Shikamaru." Asuma said slightly amused as he straitened up and turned to Shikamaru who smirked at his old sensei.

"I'm not going to lie, this really is something." Shikamaru replied while Kurenai straitened up as well.

"Shika-sensei..." Mirai said surprised as she snapped out of her daze.

"That's cute Shikamaru." Asuma laughed as Shikamaru's eyebrow twitched.

"You sound like Temari." Shikamaru said bluntly.

"So are you two dating yet?" Asuma asked slyly.

"Of course they are." Mirai said rolling her eyes, well she recovered quickly...

"No we're not." Shikamaru said irritated as he directed his gaze at Mirai who shrugged amused.

"Denial." Kurenai laughed making shikamaru sigh.

"You're all troublesome." Shikamaru said.

"Oi, here I come." Asuma said as he dashed to shikamaru.

Shikamaru's face turned to one of determination as he focused on the task at hand. Shikamaru made hand signs as his shadow extended forward to catch Asuma, but Asuma wasn't about to make this easy for him. He jumped and twisted and dodged his shadow. Making sure his shadow dodged Shikamaru's.

"Why are you here? I thought all the reanimated shinobi where dispelled when Kabuto woke up." Shikamaru asked.

"I don't know shikamaru. All I know is that I'm here to kill the shinobi of the leaf." Asuma answered as he clashed chakra knives against Shikamaru's kunai.

However it wasn't his real chakra knives, since Mirai now used them.

"What's going on Shikamaru? I noticed somethings off since I was reanimated." Asuma asked while he fought shikamaru.

"Something's going on Asuma. People are disappearing one by one and we don't know who's behind it or why." Shikamaru said while he dodged a dangerous strike aimed at his neck while shikamaru elbowed him in the stomach.

"I know what this means." Asuma smirked as shikamaru jumped back.

"Shadow possession jutsu, complete." Shikamaru said with a smirk as Asuma was unable to move.

"You've improved a lot shikamaru, I'm impressed." Asuma said.

"Well I didn't sit around doing nothing since you were gone." Shikamaru said smirking.

"Did Temari motivate you?" Asuma laughed.

"Actually Orochimaru abducted her two years ago and we only recently got her back, but she disappeared. Again. So she sort off did." Shikamaru said with a sigh.

"Life has not been treating you fairly, has it?" Asuma asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Not at all." Shikamaru answered.

"Kurenai, Mirai. I'm going to send Asuma back to where he belongs, so if you want to say something this is your last chance." Shikamaru said bitterly as he walked closer to Asuma without him moving, which impressed Asuma.

"I have so many questions..." Mirai said as she walked closer to her father, but Kurenai stepped closer and hugged her daughter.

Kurenai turned Mirai around so she was facing Kurenai's chest while Kurenai still faced Asuma.

"Asuma..." Kurenai said, but she stopped and after a minute she faded away with Mirai in her arms.

"Kurenai! Mirai!" Asuma yelled as he saw them disappear in the corner of his eyes.

"That's what I've been talking about. Everyone's starting to disappear and I have no idea what to do about it." Shikamaru said tensely as he walked to a box and sat down on it while Asuma was still frozen.

He needed someone to talk to. Someone who is like a mentor to him and Asuma was exactly that. He had Asuma contained so he might as well talk to him while he's still here. Shikamaru knew it was selfish, but everyone was disappearing.

"You have to remember to stay calm and level headed shikamaru, no matter who disappears and how many." Asuma said coolly.

"I know, I just don't know what to do." Shikamaru sighed.

"It's hard having no plans when you usually have a million plans running through that smart head of yours, isn't it?" Asuma asked.

"Yeah, what am I supposed to do Asuma?" Shikamaru said looking at the ground.

"I never thought I'll hear those words come out your mouth." Asuma chuckled as shikamaru lifted his head and looked at him.

"I assume you already have a pattern for the disappearances." Asuma said.

"Yes. First was the shinobi with cursed marks alongside pregnant woman then it went on to woman and men in the general. However the elderly and children haven't vanished at all, except Mirai, she's so far the only child who disappeared. But I have a fleeting suspicion that it was because Kurenai was hugging her at the exact moment she was supposed to disappear, since nobody has disappeared at the same time before." Shikamaru explained.

"See, you're getting somewhere. How about the enemy are they disappearing as well?" Asuma asked.

"They're shinobi is actually disappearing faster than ours are." Shikamaru answered.

"Where do they go when they disappear?" Asuma ask not able to completely hide the worry in his voice.

"I don't know, but I do know that when they vanish they're still alive." Shikamaru said as Asuma sighed a breath of relieve, but he was still worried.

"Maybe the person causing the vanishing act is on our side. Maybe they are trying to stop this war by scattering everyone." Asuma suggested.

"Then why make pregnant woman disappear, they can be in real danger because of the disappearing act that person pulled." Shikamaru said.

"Where there is love there will always be hatred and that leads to war to protect the things they love. Maybe he or she scattered pregnant woman as well to shift the focus to more important matters other than the war." Asuma suggested, he would've shrugged but that didn't quite work out for him.

"I don't know Asuma..." Shikamaru said doubtfully.

"Maybe the answer actually lies in the more optimistic side for once instead of the pessimistic side. Other than that I really can't help you Shikamaru." Asuma said.

"Thank you Asuma. You really did help me." Shikamaru smiled at him.

"Before you send me back to the other side I want to ask you a question." Asuma said with a smile.

"Ask away." Shikamaru said.

"How's my team doing?" Asuma asked fondly.

"Good given the circumstances. Although Ino disappeared, she's now head of the clan and she's dating Sai. Chouji is good as well and I actually noticed he's been hanging out with some Kunoichi from Kumogakure. I believe her name is Karui... As for me, it's troublesome, but I'm now the Hokage's advisor and head of the clan..." Shikamaru sighed rubbing the back of his head.

"I would've never imagined you being the advisor given your lazy attitude. Who's the lucky Hokage?" Asuma laughed.

"You won't believe it..." Shikamaru smiled amused.

"No." Asuma said shocked.

"Naruto Uzamaki is the seventh Hokage." Shikamaru smirked.

"He really did it. He accomplished his dream. Who was the six Hokage?" Asuma asked.

"Kakashi Hatake." Shikamaru answered.

"You're kidding." Asuma laughed.

"No." Shikamaru said shaking his head.

Asuma waited until their laughter died down until he asked another question.

"Shikamaru when did Temari disappear in this war?" Asuma asked seriously.

"She was the first recorded disappearance." Shikamaru answered seriously.

"So that means... Was she pregnant Shikamaru?" Asuma asked slyly.

"No... She has a curse mark." Shikamaru answered bluntly as he sweat dropped.

"Oh." Asuma said slightly disappointed.

"But you can tell the fourth Hokage that he's going to become a grandad. That is if nothing serious happens to Hinata" Shikamaru said.

Asuma stared blankly at Shikamaru as he processed the information. The shy Hyuga was pregnant with her live long love's baby...

"I can't believe this... Does Kurenai know? She'd be ecstatic." Asuma asked shocked.

"Not yet, we kept it secret during the war." Shikamaru explained.

"Asuma..." Shikamaru said sadly.

"I know Shikamaru, you can't hold me in this jutsu forever." Asuma said calmly.

"I really wish you could stay. We miss you." Shikamaru said sadly.

"It's okay Shikamaru." Asuma smiled reassuringly.

"Goodbye Asuma." Shikamaru said.

"Keep the king safe shikamaru. I'm proud of you." Asuma smiled.

Shikamaru stood up and walked until he was in front of Asuma then made hand signs and performed a sealing jutsu that would send Asuma back to where he belonged. It took Shikamaru awhile to complete it since he did it alone, but once Asuma was sealed and his spirit left the world, he felt alone.

Shikamaru sat back on the box again and looked at the clouds. They floated lazily across the sly to who knew where. They were big and fluffy and covered the ocean blue sky as they floated lazily about. It's always the safest to assume that the things that happened have bad intentions for Konoha, but maybe Asuma was right.

Shikamaru sat there wishing he had a cigarette for a while before he stood back up again with a sigh. He walked calmly back to the office with his hands in his pockets. He noticed that he rarely heard explosions anymore. Since the war began the explosions grew less and less until you didn't really hear them anymore. Shikamaru walked into the office and closed the door behind him.

"Ichiro, how many enemy shinobi is left?" Shikamaru asked sitting in the chair near the map.

"Only about a 100." He replied.

"All Orochimaru's troops has gathered and regrouped in the north and is now attacking from there." Naruto said calmly.

"How many shinobi do we have left?" Shikamaru asked.

"Still more than them plus we still have all our gennin." Ichiro answered.

"Not all, Mirai disappeared with Kurenai." Shikamaru said as someone wrote it down on a report with all the missing people's names.

"I ordered all our remaining forces to regroup in the north as well while the gennin is to stay on the wall as our _last_ line of defense." Naruto said as shikamaru nodded.

Something was different about Naruto. He was calm and looked like someone drained him of all his energy. Naruto didn't display his usual funny and energetic personality. He just sat quietly with his head resting on his intertwined hands as he stared at his desk.

They sat in the office monitoring the war until it grew late and night overtook the light of the day. Everyone in the office packed up and left for day except Shikamaru and Naruto who now sat alone in the office.

"What's wrong Naruto? You're never this quiet and serious." Shikamaru asked Naruto who still sat solemnly in his chair.

Naruto looked up at Shikamaru without a word. There was a long heavy silence until a big explosion broke the silence. That explosion lit up the sky and office for a few seconds until it was dark again, but in that few seconds, Shikamaru could see that Naruto was transparent. Shikamaru eyes widened in shock as he looked at Naruto, who looked back at him gravely.

"Take care of the village, Shikamaru." Naruto said seriously as he gave Shikamaru a smile before he faded away from the room just like the rest who went missing.

"Dammit." Shikamaru scowled as he whipped around and walked away.

He exited the Hokage mansion and jumped to the roofs as he made his way to the battlefield in the north the fighting was still ongoing. He jumped on the great Konoha wall where gennin didn't stand. He stood there in silence as he watched the battle while the wind tugged at his hair and clothes.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and one by one his comrades appeared beside him. On Shikamaru's left Sai knelt, next to him Chouji stood with a serious expression and next to him Kiba stood with crossed arms while Akamaru stood growling next to him. To Shikamaru's left Sakura stood adjusting her left glove while Lee stood next to her with his hands on his hips.

They caught the attention of their enemy. They were an intimidating sight. A force to be reckoned with.

"Naruto disappeared. Let's end this war." Shikamaru said to his friends as they nodded and they all jumped into the fray.

This war was going to end now.

* * *

 **A/N: Yaaaay I'm finished with this chapter. I was really struggling to get this chapter going. Writers block kicked me in the ass in this chapter, until I finally had a breakthrough.**

 **So now I'm done with this chapter and I'm happy. But I feel depressed because I can't watch anime on my phone anymore cause it keeps redirecting itself, and no its not a virus. So now I have to go on my laptop to watch stuff, but now I can't watch a lot because it takes to much data. I even have to go on my laptop if I want to use Wikipedia.**

 **So no more "I'm quickly going to Google this..." for me...**

 ***sigh***

 **Oooooh, who saw fairy tail's chapter 102... They are back and I loved it. Now they just have to stay in the chapters and kiss. Then I would be even more happy :P**

 **Anyway, I can't believe this is the 20th Chapter. Who would've thought this story would go on this long. This story really exceeded my expectations and I really love this story and I'm extremely proud of it. I believe that this is one good first try at writing fanfictions.**

 **HAPPY 20TH CHAPTER**

 **And thanks to everyone reading, liking and commenting on this story. I love you all to bits!**

 **(Woah this is a super long A/N, sorry about that)**


	21. THE LAST MAN TO FADE

_**"Since I was young, I knew I'd find you. But our love was a song sung by a dying swan. And in the night, you hear me calling, you hear me calling. And in your dreams you see me falling, falling. Breathe in the light. I'll stay here in the shadow. Waiting for a sign, as the tide grows. Higher, and higher, and higher. And when the nights are long. All those stars recall your goodbye, your goodbye." - Oblivion, M83 feat. Susanne Sundfor**_

* * *

The war was finally over even though it didn't last very long, but almost all Konoha's forces where now gone as well as their Hokage. However Shikamaru didn't rest after he helped fight in the war. He didn't go to the barbecue place with the remaining members of the Konoha 12 to celebrate.

He headed straight over to the hospital after the fighting. He needed to see lady Tsunade as soon as possible. The village was left without a Hokage and he needed to find someone to fill the roll until Naruto returned. A village couldn't operate without a Hokage.

He would've asked Kakashi to act as Hokage for the time being, but Kakashi was nowhere to be found so Shikamaru assumed he was one of the missing. Shikamaru entered the hospital and looked around. However something struck Shikamaru as strange.

Even though the people in the hospital was injured, not one of them where disappearing. He also noticed none of the villagers was disappearing. In other words, from all the categories Shikamaru placed everyone in, only the normal villagers and injured aren't disappearing.

Shikamaru walked to the receptionist and asked for lady Tsunade's whereabouts. He followed the directions he was given until he found lady Tsunade in a room helping injured people.

"Lady Tsunade." Shikamaru said leaning against the doorframe.

Lady Tsunade looked up from her clipboard and to Shikamaru. She looked as young as ever, but in reality she counted as one of the elderly. Her appearance is thanks to her jutsu. Her appearance is only an illusion. However from all of the three Sannin, Jiraya was the only one who aged normally.

Shikamaru knew if Jiraya was still alive he would've looked like a pervy old grandpa by now while Tsunade and Orochimaru still looked how they looked 30 years ago.

"Shikamaru, what are you doing here? Are you hurt?" Tsunade asked looking him over for serious injuries.

"No, I need to speak to you privately." Shikamaru said seriously.

"Alright." Tsunade said nodding her head as she saw the seriousness in Shikamaru's eyes.

She handed the clipboard to a nurse then left the room followed by Shikamaru. They walked in silence until they reached the very top of the hospital. The roof.

"Have you been fighting Shikamaru? You're covered in cuts." Tsunade asked with crossed arms.

"Yes, but my part helped end the war. But that's not what I want to talk about." Shikamaru said.

"What is it you want to talk about Shikamaru?" Tsunade asked.

"I'm sure Sakura informed you about the disappearances." Shikamaru said

"Yes, she did and I've noticed it myself as well." Tsunade nodded.

"Naruto disappeared and the village needs someone to run it in his absence." Shikamaru said looking Tsunade in her eyes.

"And you want me to be Hokage again?" Tsunade asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes." Shikamaru nodded.

"What about Kakashi?" Tsunade asked.

"He disappeared as well. That's why I'm asking you." Shikamaru said.

"Shikamaru I'm retired and as much as I hate to say this, I'm getting too old for this." Tsunade sighed.

"And that's exactly why you're the most capable of running the village while Naruto is gone. You have experience plus as far as my knowledge go, the elderly doesn't disappear." Shikamaru said.

"Are you calling me an old hag?" Tsunade asked as a vein popped in her forehead.

"No, I'm calling you a wise woman." Shikamaru said quickly, not wanting to feel the wrath of the fifth Hokage.

Shikamaru knew lady Tsunade's age was a sensitive topic and he knew what happened when someone insulted her about her age. He was not about to make the same mistake as countless others made before him.

"I'll make you a deal Shikamaru. Why don't you be Hokage, I always thought you would've made a good Hokage. I'll be your advisor until you disappear and when you fade I'll take over and be Hokage in Naruto's place." Tsunade suggested with a raised eyebrow.

"Being Hokage is troublesome. What about Sakura?" Shikamaru sighed.

"She's head of the hospital. Her hands are full here." Tsunade said with her hands on her hips.

"Isn't there someone else?" Shikamaru asked trying to get out of the job.

"Who shikamaru? Everyone capable of the job is missing." Tsunade said with a hard tone.

"Ugh fine, this is such a pain." Shikamaru complained as he started walking away.

However after a few steps he stopped and turned his head back around to look at lady Tsunade.

"Let's not make this information public, I don't want the village going into a confused panic." Shikamaru said.

"Does anybody else know about this?" Tsunade asked.

"Only the remaining Konoha 12." Shikamaru answered.

"I see." Tsunade said as shikamaru turned back around and walked away.

Even though the war was over, ended with the little amount of shinobi left and vanished with the shinobi who fought it, the village was left in a dire state. The village wasn't destroyed, but there was a few buildings and houses that was harmed by the fighting. However shikamaru wasn't worried about that, it could easily be rebuild.

The thing that worried shikamaru is the village's vulnerability, all the shinobi is disappearing. The village will be left defenseless if things go on like this. The only question now is will the disappearances end with the shinobi or will the villagers fade as well.

Will the elderly be spared? Will the gennin be spared?

Shikamaru walked over to a house he thought he would never go to in a situation like this one. His mother's house. He found her extremely troublesome, but he still visited her every now and then since his father died.

Shikamaru stopped in front of his family's home with a bored expression. He looked at the door for a while before he sighed and knocked, waiting for his mother to answer and after a short while she did indeed open the door.

"Shikamaru!" His mother beamed.

"Hey mom." He greeted.

She stepped out the way so he could enter and closed the door behind him.

"It's really getting colder by the day." His mother commented as shikamaru walked through his childhood home and sat on the familiar couch he always lazed on.

"It is." Shikamaru replied, slight worry in his voice.

"Hey, what's wrong?" His mother asked hearing the worry in his voice as she sat down on the couch opposite him.

"Huh, what do you mean?" Shikamaru asked.

"You know what I mean. I can see you're stressed and I can hear the worry in your voice. Is it about the war?" His mother asked as she rolled her eyes in the beginning of the sentence.

"No, the war actually ended tonight." Shikamaru sighed.

"But that's a good thing then, so why do you look so bothered?" His mother asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's how the war ended that's bothering me." Shikamaru said, exhaustion hinted in his voice as he leaned his head back and rubbed his face while he slouched in his seat.

"What do you mean by that?" Shikamaru's mother asked confused.

"If you haven't noticed it by now, you'll realize it real soon..." Shikamaru said looking at the roof.

"Does it have something to do with the little amount of Shinobi I've been seeing lately?" She asked with a frown.

"It's exactly that." Shikamaru answered with a sigh.

"I've been wondering about that. What's happening Shikamaru?" She asked worryingly.

"There's no point in not telling you, you'll find it out with or without me telling you..." Shikamaru shrugged.

"Then just tell me already." His mother said impatiently in that signature annoyed way she yells at him.

"Alright, alright..." Shikamaru said boredly as he lifted his head to look at her.

"Just one alright, Shikamaru." She exclaimed as she interrupted him.

"Alright... Shinobi are disappearing mom. That's the only reason the war ended tonight." Shikamaru said exaggerated, but turned serious when he told his mom about the disappearances.

"What?" His mother gasped.

"I don't know why and I don't know who, but someone is making Chunins and Jonins disappear." Shikamaru said troubled.

"But, that means..." His mother said shocked.

"Yeah, I don't know when, but soon I'm going to fade as well. But don't worry, I'll find my way back." Shikamaru sighed.

"I know you will." His mother said softly as she looked at the floor.

There was a long silence between them. His mother knew him well enough to know when he had no solution for a situation, this was one of those situations. She knew he felt helpless and frustrated because he had no idea what to do.

"I saw Temari the other day..." His mother started looking up again.

"And?" He asked narrowing his eyes at her slightly in suspicion.

"She has no idea who I am. How is that possible?" His mother asked with a frown.

"She has amnesia. I probably should've mentioned it to you earlier." Shikamaru said while his mother sweet dropped.

"How did she get amnesia?" She questioned.

"Orochimaru gave her a curse mark while she was in a critical condition. She survived it in the end, but it led to her not remembering anything." Shikamaru explained.

"That poor girl. Did she disappear too?" His mother asked sadly.

"She was the first too fade." Shikamaru answered with a sigh.

"What happens when someone _fades?_ " His mother asked with a frown.

"Too be honest, I have no idea. I just now they're still alive somewhere." Shikamaru said troubled.

"Things are getting _troublesome._ " His mother said chuckling slightly as she mimicked him which made him smile amused.

"I saw Asuma today..." Shikamaru said with slight sadness in his eyes while Yoshino's eyes widened.

"I despise that jutsu, if they reanimated your father I would've personally kicked Orochimaru's ass." His mother said disgusted as her eyes returned to their normal size.

"I'm sure they would've, but Kabuto is the one reanimating shinobi and he disappeared so he stopped the jutsu." Shikamaru said in a bored tone.

"However I'm sort of glad Asuma got reanimated. He finally got the chance to meet his daughter." Shikamaru smiled slightly.

"She's going to be a splendid ninja, just like her parents." Yoshino mused nostalgically.

"Yeah." Shikamaru agreed.

"I'm going to bed, I'm exhausted." Shikamaru said as he stood up nonchalantly.

"Wait, you're staying here?" His mother asked surprised.

"Yeah, I'm too lazy to go back to my apartment." Shikamaru said with a bored yawn as he walked up the steps while his mother's eyebrow twitched.

"Of course, I shouldn't have expected anything else." Yoshino said annoyed.

She blamed his father for his lazy attitude.

 **xXx**

The next morning shikamaru woke up and laid in the guest rooms bed as he stared at the roof of his parents' house. It was cold outside and it made hi lazier than usual to get up. But to be honest he didn't really feel like doing anything right now. However his mother had other plans.

"Shikamaru! Breakfast is done!" He heard her yell from the kitchen.

At least he didn't have to make his own breakfast. He pondered about moving back in with her, and then at least he didn't have to do any work. But then he'll have to put up with her troublesome nagging... Guess he won't be moving back after all. He'll just stay in his own apartment, alone with no one to nag him...

"Shikamaru! Get your lazy bum down here!" His mother yelled again.

...Or anyone to yell at him what to do.

"Alright, alright. I'm coming." Shikamaru groaned.

Luckily his mother didn't hear otherwise she would've yelled at him some more. He walked lazily downstairs and ate with his mother. She looked happy for having someone to eat breakfast with. However he could only eat breakfast with her before he had to go.

"I have to go. Thanks for the food mom." Shikamaru said as he stood up and placed his plate in the sink.

"When will I see you again?" She asked looking at him.

"I don't know. I'll see myself out, take care mom." Shikamaru said as he left his childhood home and walked to the Hokage's mansion.

It was a cold morning and this time he didn't stuff his hands in his pockets because he usually does it, but because he tried to keep them warm. It took him awhile to get to the Hokage's mansion since he was walking slowly and it was a quite far from his parents' house.

"What took you so long?" Tsunade exclaimed annoyed as he entered the office.

"I had to help an old woman get to her home." Shikamaru said feebly, he can't believe he was using Kakashi's lame excuses.

But it's better than getting smacked to hell by the fifth Hokage.

"You expect me to believe that?" Tsunade asked exaggerated while shikamaru shrugged.

That answer was better than admitting to her that he was too lazy to be on time, even though he knew she already knew that.

"Where's Sakura? I need to know how many shinobi is left." Shikamaru asked sitting in the only chair the office had.

Naruto really needed to invest in a couch. He'll bring it to Naruto's attention when he gets back and everything calmed down and returned to normal.

"She disappeared this morning at the hospital." Tsunade sighed.

"Who's in charge of the hospital then, since you're here?" Shikamaru asked.

"I placed a nurse in charge, since they don't seem to vanish like the shinobi do." Tsunade said seriously.

"How many shinobi are left?" Shikamaru asked again with a hard expression.

"All the Genin, minus Mirai, 15 Jonin and 25 Chunnin." Tsunade answered, Shikamaru's stomach dropped slightly when he heard the extremely few number of shinobi that was left.

"What about the root members and Anbu?" He asked with a scowl.

"They're all gone." She scowled making Shikamaru's scowl deepen.

"If I just knew where everyone disappeared to." Shikamaru said with a frown while looking down slightly as he thought of every single answer to his question.

"Everyone would love to know that." Tsunade sighed.

"How about the Konoha 12, whose left?" Shikamaru asked looking up at her again.

"Sai, Chouji and Lee." Tsunade said as she counted them on her fingers.

"Wait, what about Akumaru, did he disappear with Kiba?" Shikamaru asked curiously.

"No. It seems like animals isn't disappearing like shinobi are." Tsunade said.

Poor Akumaru, he and Kiba was inseparable and now they were separated by some strange happening. However Akumaru was getting old and it was probably best for him to stay in the village. It's not long before Kiba would have to stop fighting alongside Akumaru, his old bones can't take as much as they used to.

"If my calculations are correct... Every shinobi, excluding Gennin, is going to be gone by the end of the day." Shikamaru said leaning back in the chair, but Tsunade didn't answer.

"You better start with the paperwork. There's a ton of it." Tsunade said pointing at the desk while shikamaru just eyed the stack of papers wearily.

"Or I can leave it until tomorrow, and then it'll be your baby." Shikamaru said amused.

"Start, shikamaru." Tsunade said angrily.

"Alright, alright." Shikamaru said with a sigh as he started.

Guess Tsunade didn't want to do the paperwork anymore than he did. However it was Naruto's job after all, but someone had to do it in his absence.

"Chouji hasn't disappeared yet, has he?" Shikamaru asked as he stopped doing paperwork and looked at Tsunade.

"Not as far as I know." Tsunade answered.

"I want to talk to him before we disappear." Shikamaru said as he stood up.

"Sit, I'll get him." Tsunade said as she walked out the office to fetch Chouji.

Tsunade really didn't want paperwork. The more Shikamaru did the less she had to do... And they called him lazy. Shikamaru sat with a exaggerated sigh and started with the paperwork again as he waited for Tsunade to return with Chouji, but as the time ticked on by he knew she wasn't going to find it. The clock struck noon when Tsunade finally walked in the office again.

"You didn't find him, did you?" Shikamaru sighed as he stopped writing and leaned back in the chair.

"No. I talked to the cashier at the barbecue place Chouji always goes to, she said she saw him disappear. However she was quite depressed that he disappeared before he paid his bill. He practically ate everything then disappeared without paying." Tsunade said with a sweat dropped.

"How convenient." Shikamaru said bluntly with a sweat drop.

He sighed and turned the chair around as he watched the village bathing in the cold sun of winter. How long would it be before he disappears or would fate really be so cruel that he had to do paperwork until the very last minute before the day ended?

Until the very last minute before he disappeared as well. But when they're all gone it would mean the end of all shinobi of the leaf, for now.

Shikamaru continued with Naruto's paperwork. This was exactly why he didn't want to be Hokage. His job was to help the Hokage on a daily basis and it made him see just how good of a choice it was to have never considered to be Hokage. It's too troublesome

Time ticked away, never pausing and never stopping. It kept ticking until Lee disappeared then Sai then all the rest of the shinobi, until Shikamaru was the last shinobi left and he knew what that meant. It ticked alongside the moving sun that made its slow descend towards the horizon. Shikamaru stopped with the paperwork and turned the chair around once again to look out the window. Tsunade didn't stay in the office the whole time and this was one of the moments she wasn't here.

He crossed his arms and leaned back in the chair as he watched the sunset. After the last ray of the orange sun evaporated, Shikamaru turned the chair back to the desk. But he didn't continue the paperwork. Shikamaru sighed as he stacked the papers on the desk, however he didn't pay attention to Tsunade as she entered the office again.

Night now settled over Konoha as he was packing up so he could go home. From all of the Shinobi, Shikamaru was the last one left. Yes, fate was really that cruel. All his friends where gone as well as most of the people he cared about.

As he finished packing and filing the papers he suddenly got a searing headache. Shikamaru grunted in surprise from the sudden pain.

"Is something wrong Shikamaru?" Tsunade asked as she heard his grunt.

Shikamaru's expression changed from serious to one of amusement. He knew what the sudden pain meant, but first he watched his shadow tug to the direction Temari was in for one last time. She was still in the north. Shikamaru looked up again to Tsunade who looked confused at his sudden amusement.

"Enjoy the paperwork." Shikamaru smirked at Tsunade as he started to fade from reality.

Tsunade gaped at him as she watched him stuff his hands in his pockets and slowly become blurred at his edges as he faded until he was completely gone. Tsunade now stood alone in her old office which now belonged to Naruto. There was no Shikamaru anymore.

"Bastard." Tsunade scoffed as she watched the empty seat Shikamaru occupied only a second ago.

"Strange, Temari was the first one to disappear and he was the last." Tsunade mused to herself as she sat down in her old chair with a sigh.

It started with her and ended with him...

Tsunade sighed and turned the chair so she overlooked the village through the window. There was a biting coldness that seemed to creep over the village. The moon was full, but had a cold white to its foreboding light as it illuminated the village beneath it.

The stars where overshadowed by the round body of light in the never ending sky, but they still continued to glow none the less. Refusing to go unnoticed. However it only added to Tsunade's uneasy feeling she couldn't seem to shake.

Will the village survive this ordeal with only Gennins left... or will it parish in flames?

* * *

 **A/N: Another chapter in less than 4 days. *High five self*. Anyway it's vacation and I'm super happy about that plus tomorrow is our matric farewell and my dress is sexy as hell. So I'm suuuper excited. However they waxed my eyebrows and now my face is in soooo much pain. I'm dying…**

 **I would've posted this chapter sooner, but I had problems with the wifi. Anyway they also gave e fake nails so now my nails is longer than it's ever been in my life and it's super unpractical. For all those people who said this story wasn't ending back in chapter 10... You where right.**

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter and feel free to like and leave a comment. I always love hearing from you guys, it makes my day.**

 **Stay cool :P**


	22. ELECTRICITY, WAGONS AND CHIPS

_**"You never thought we'd go to war, after all the things we saw" - Six days, Dj Shadow feat. Mos Def**_

* * *

It was just past midnight and the perfect full moon hung heavy in the night sky. Shining its ominous brilliance on the pitch black abyss below. However the moon was somewhat eerie in the desert sky tonight. The night contradicted the day as its freezing coldness swallowed the blazing heat of the day.

The mass lonely sand was swept away by the cold gust. Carrying the sand to discover new places until they finally rested on a new sand dune. Helping the small mountain to grow slowly in height. There was no life in the waterless desert, except one...

It was a village known as Suna.

A village that strived in a desert so harsh. The whole village was sound asleep, except one man who stood on a rooftop and overlooked his village as well as the desert he controlled. Gaara stood on the roof of the Kazekage mansion and looked at the horizon of the desert.

He had arrived back in his village this afternoon with Kankurou and was surprised to see all Suna's Shinobi still here, except Temari of course. In the end he asked Baki what was going on and found his answer.

It turns out no other village was experience the same problem Konoha was, except the Shinobi that where in Konoha when this problem started. Luckily Gaara and Kankurou got out before they disappeared as well. However Gaara finally found out why his troops never made it to Konoha...

They would always just reach the border of the land of wind and fire when they'll all teleport right back to Suna's gates. They tried numerous times to get past the border to Konoha, but they never made it, they only teleported back to Suna over and over again. But why?

Was someone trying to stop Suna from helping Konoha? Was someone trying to save, or destroy Konoha?

Gaara mused over his thoughts as he felt the sand of the desert shift and mule over each other, never standing still. Gaara was finely in tuned with the desert, he could feel when something or someone disturbed the sands around the village. However the sands were especially restless tonight. But that could have something to do with the lightning raining down in a concentrated area.

Gaara knew the lightning was anything but normal for there were no clouds in the desert to generate lighting. The lighting simply appeared out of thin air to skewer the loose sands below. It was unnatural. Gaara watched silently as the lightning bolts inched slowly towards the village. His village.

Gaara had a fleeting suspicion as to who the lightning belonged to, but he wasn't certain. After all it was only a suspicion. The lightning flashes grew brighter and the bangs harder as electricity crackled through the air. Gaara walked to the gates of the village and waited as the sands near the village grew even more restless and the lighting grew intimidating close. Gaara stood emotionless as a tall man approached him while the lighting ceased.

His suspicion was correct.

"Where's Sakura?" He asked almost as emotionless as Gaara talked, _almost._

Like Gaara knew where Sakura was...Gaara would've expected him to ask for water or something warm first, since it was extremely cold and dry. However that wasn't the case. Guess water and heat wasn't important for him just of yet.

"I don't know." Gaara answered him with crossed arms, why would he know where she is?

"I didn't know you where the flashy type, Sasuke." Gaara said with crossed arms.

"It kept the bandits away, they were getting on my nerves." Sasuke said with no emotion, except the constant scowl on his face and the slight annoyance in his voice.

"I'll get you a place to stay, and then you can tell me how you got here." Gaara said as he walked in the village while Sasuke followed him.

Sasuke followed Gaara until they reached a Inn in Suna. Gaara booked a room for Sasuke and went with him to the room. Gaara told the receptionist he'd pay for the room Sasuke would be staying in.

"I'll be leaving as soon as the sun rises." Sasuke stated as they entered the room.

"You must be eager to get back to your village, or is there another reason?" Gaara said as he sat down on the couch.

"It doesn't matter. You wanted me to tell you how I got here?" Sasuke asked ignoring Gaara's statement as he stood at the window.

"Yes." Gaara answered nodding his head.

"It's simple; I woke up in the desert. I have been walking around in this sand pit for two days already until I finally found Suna." Sasuke said not displaying any emotions.

"Did you encounter anyone else except the bandits?" Gaara asked curiously, but you couldn't hear it in his voice.

"Yes, Iwagakure nin." Sasuke answered.

There where silence between the two men. Every little creak and sound could be heard as well as every little sand grain that slammed against the window.

"Noted, enjoy your stay." Gaara said, breaking the silence while he turned around and left the room.

Sasuke scoffed as he walked towards the bed. He wasn't planning on staying. He'll leave in a few hours once the sun has risen.

He had someone he needed to find as soon as possible...

 **xXx**

Ino walked carefully through the lush forest never taking down her guard. She had to stay vigilant if she wanted to survive. She was slightly irritated at this point in time. She has been walking through this damn forest for two days now and she didn't have the slightest clue where she was or where the village for that matter.

She also didn't know where Sai was or if he's okay...

However she trusted his skills as a Shinobi and believed he could take care of himself. She just needed to find the village then she could be reunited with the man she loved.

Ino wondered how her friends where doing. Are they stuck in the middle of nowhere like she was, or have they found civilization by now? Ino heard faint lightning in the distance. She stopped walking then jumped to the top of the high tree that towered next to her.

She heard the soft threatening lightning in the distance as she made her way to the top. However when Ino reached the top she frowned. The whole reason she jumped to the top is to see if the lightning signified a storm heading her way.

But it only left Ino confused. She could hear distant lighting and she could see the flashes in the horizon sky, but their where no clouds. Only a cloudless never ending sky covered with stars that stretched further than the eye could see.

How can there be lightning with no clouds?

Ino watched the lightning until it was no more, until it vanished like all the shinobi of the leaf did. Ino watched how the lush green forest turned dryer and less green until all the trees, grass and flowers where no more. Where the forest turned into a desert.

She woke up in this forest yesterday and could see where the sun rose and set. In other words she knew where north was now.

That means she was almost on the border of the land of wind and the land of spirit. If she could just find Suna, she could finally find her way back to Konoha. To home. Ino searched for a bird whose mind she could possess. An eagle would be fantastic, they fly high and fast. Ino wanted to know the source of the lightning and she wanted to find Suna.

Ino looked around in the tree she stood in. It was hard to find a bird in the middle of the night. Ino sighed in frustration as she jumped from tree to tree in search of a bloody bird, until she struck gold. Ino found a large eagle that was sleeping in a branch in another tree bellow her.

Ino took the wire from her ninja pouch and wrapped her waist around the tree trunk so she won't fall off when she uses her jutsu, plus nobody would find her defenseless body. After she tied herself against the tree trunk she made hand signs then aimed for the sleeping eagle.

"Mind possession jutsu." Ino said calmly.

Her body went limp while the eagle's piercing yellow eyes shot wide open.

 _Sorry little eagle..._

Ino opened her new body's wings and jumped from the branch. She raced through the air as she fell until she flapped her giant wings and flew higher in the air. She flew until she was higher than the highest tree. She flapped her wings and studied the ground below as she flew to where the lighting was blasting away.

It took Ino hours to finally find Suna. However the lightning long since stopped and she never found out what the source was. The lightning only went on for a few minutes before it stopped. Ino sighed in relieve as she found Suna. She was so tired of flying at this point. Ino landed the bird for its safety then released her jutsu on the bird and returned to her own body.

She opened her eyes and remembered the path she memorized. The path she'll take to Suna. It'll probably be a week's journey through the desert. Her hair and skin is going to hate her after this. Ino yawned, she was pretty tired right now.

Ino decided to sleep until sunrise when she'll start her journey to Suna. She kept the wires around her so she wouldn't fall out the tree while she slept. However before she closed her eyes she heard a wagon beneath her. Ino softly grabbed a kunai in case it where bandits or rogue ninja.

Ino caught sight of the wagon as her muscles relaxed with the kunai in her lap. It was only travelers. However Ino frowned at them. Why are they travelling two o'clock in the morning? Are they trying to get mugged?

There were three men and one woman. She had long auburn hair in a ponytail that hung to the middle of her back. She had some loose hair that framed her face and beautiful blue eyes. Two of the men were blond, one with blue eyes and the other one with brown eyes. The other man had black hair and green eyes.

Ino listened to the bits of conversation between them that floated to her ears. They didn't seem to notice her.

"How's the cargo?" The woman asked in the lead of the pack.

"Breathing." The black haired man answers bluntly from the back.

"What's her condition?" The woman asked more annoyed.

"Stable, she doesn't seem in danger in her condition." The blond hair man with brown eyes answered, which made the auburn haired woman relax again.

He was walking in front of the wagon with the other blond haired man.

"Good I don't want to make an enemy out of the Hyuga's. I'm sure my brother would agree." The woman scoffed.

"We're kinda doing that already." The blond haired blue eyes man said with a sigh which made the woman irritated again.

They walked out of Ino's ear shot and line of vision. She was completely confused and baffled. What did they mean by make an enemy out if the Hyuga's? What have they done? What are they planning on doing?

Ino shook her head and closed her eyes. They were only travelers. They're probably on their way to Konoha to annoy the Hyuga clan. Nothing more, nothing less.

 **xXx**

Chouji sighed his last pack of chips was officially done. He licked the inside of the packet a bit out of desperation. Chouji continued his walk at a reasonable time in the morning. He remembered eating at his favorite restaurant and just as he was about to pay the bill everything went black...

The next thing he remembered was waking up in the wild. He didn't know what happened, but it must've been because of the disappearances Shikamaru was talking about. Speaking of Shikamaru...

Where did he disappear of to?

Chouji shrugged and kept walking, Shikamaru can take care of himself. Chouji has only been walking for half an day, he decided to hunt for food and cook himself something nice as well as sleep after the sun set. A man cannot travel long distances without proper meals and enough sleep. Pa taught him that.

However Chouji counted himself lucky, because when he woke up he knew exactly where he was. He was in the land of lightning. On the path he regularly took to the cloud village to be precise. Chouji was currently on his way to the cloud village since he knew it was the closest to him at this point and he needed to restock on chips.

A man cannot simply travel long distances without bags of chips...

Plus he could pop in and say hi to Karui if she was in the village. He hasn't seen her in a while. Even though she was stubborn, outspoken and even beat the living crap out of Naruto. She is quite laid back and she knows how to cook.

Chouji chuckled, Shikamaru would've pegged her as troublesome, but he pegged everything as troublesome and besides she wasn't nearly as troublesome as Temari is plus Karui was nice. However Temari was on a whole new level of troublesome, but Shikamaru knew how to handle her. Temari was good for him, she motivated him to do something with his life.

Chouji walked calmly on while the birds sung. He wished he could say the flowers where pretty, but they all died due to winter. However his path got blocked.

"Where are you heading Konoha?" An Iwagakure ninja asked as he stepped in front of him.

Chouji's friendly face grew serious. Even as he disappeared, war followed him. He looked around as Iwagakure ninja slowly surrounded him.

"The Cloud village." Chouji said seriously.

"We have some unfinished business." The ninja replied with a deadly smirk.

"Do we?" Chouji asked with a sigh, sadness hinted in his voice.

The shinobi didn't answer as they all started attacking him at once. Chouji dodged and fought back. He used his jutsu to enlarge his right fist and knocked a few shinobi out, however one of them struck him in the back of his head with something blunt. Chouji staggered forward as black stars danced across his vision.

Chouji spun around to face his attacker who clutched a large stick in his hands. The remaining shinobi jumped to attack him again, but they never reached him. A red haired woman jumped over Chouji and unsheathed her sword. She cut them all down in a blink of an eye.

"I could've handled them on my own, you know." Chouji said smiling at her.

"I know, but you don't like hurting people you big softy." She answered as she sheathed her sword and turned around to him with a smile.

"And you live for fights Karui." Chouji replied back.

Karui smirked at his statement. She still wore her forehead protector on her forehead to keep her long red hair back, but she swapped her old outfit out for a whole new one. She now wore a long black sleeveless dress with a white girdle that was around her stomach and waist. She still wore normal shinobi sandals as well as the sword she always has with her.

"I thought you'd have a bag of chips with you." Karui said with slight surprise in her voice.

"I ran out. I didn't pack for a long trip." Chouji sighed.

"Well if you're here... How could you not have packed for a long trip?" She asked confused with crossed arms.

"It's complicated." Chouji said exaggerated making Karui lift a eyebrow questioningly.

"I can't really tell you." Chouji said seriously.

"Why not?" She asked just as seriously.

"Village regulations." Chouji answered.

"I see." Karui said as she walked towards him.

"Let's go get you some bags of chips then." Karui chuckled as she elbowed him while she walked past him.

Chouji beamed and walked after her. She was a woman close to his heart.

"What brings you to the cloud village?" Karui questioned curiously.

"Well let's just say I woke up here and needed the closest village to buy some chips." Chouji said making Karui laugh.

"If you say so." She replied after laughing.

"You don't believe me?" Chouji asked.

"I never said that." Karui said with a smile.

Karui walked with Chouji to a store where he could restock his chips. He enjoyed staying in the cloud village because he enjoyed Karui's company. He always found reasons to come to the cloud village so he could spend some time with Karui.

But in the back of Chouji's mind he knew, he had to get back to the leaf village. He didn't know the state of the village or how many shinobi has made their way back to the village yet.

The village needed protecting and Chouji needed to get back. Even though his father was still clan leader, he was on his way to retirement while Chouji was slowly taking over. That's why he couldn't stay a little longer with Karui.

He needed to protect his village and lead his clan.

* * *

 **A/N: I have realized I made a miscalculation and if you noticed it I apologize. I'm not going to say what mistake I made because I don't want to ruin the story if you haven't notice that detail.**

 **I know people have realized it, but I'm sure there is still some that didn't. However it's not a train smash :P**

 **This chapter actually revealed the location of one of our leading ladies and I'm not talking about Ino. However I'm not going to tell you who because I want it a surprise if you didn't get the hint I dropped.**

 **You know what's scary? I already have the last chapter planned, I'm just connecting the dots till that chapter…**

 **Anyway I hope you liked it and remember to vote and comment my lovelies **


	23. MIST

" _ **A drop in the ocean, a change in the weather. I was praying that you and me might end up together. It's like wishing for rain as I stand in the desert, but I'm holding you closer than most 'cause you are my heaven." – A drop in the ocean, Ron Pope.**_

* * *

It was day time in the land of lightning. It would've been warm, but it was winter so it was cold. However there were no clouds in the blue sky. Shino sent one of his tracker bugs to locate his comrades and the leaf village and as it turns out Chouji was the closest go him.

That's how Shino ended up here. On the path you take from the Leaf to the Cloud. Under a tree. In the cold shade. He was leaning against the tree with crossed arms as he watched Chouji battle with Iwagakure ninja. He watched as Karui jumped over Chouji and came to his aid.

He watched as Karui and Chouji walked together to the Cloud village... Without him...

"They didn't even notice me... Not even the Iwagakure ninja saw me." Shino said in his emotionless depression.

 **xXx**

The cold unwelcoming breeze creeped through the contradicting warm coloured, lofty crop of golden grass, almost like it was trying to hide from the ominous abyss of the night that threatened to consume all that is and will be.

Even though the night could be eerie, that was only natural for the land of water.

A land familiar with mist even more consuming than the black abyss itself.

Shikamaru's eyes opened slowly and lazily. His eyes looked straight at the starry sky that was above him. Well at least that's where he knew the sky would be. Shikamaru couldn't quite see the stars above him due to the excessive mist that surrounded him.

Even though he knew the faded weren't dead, it surprise him slightly that he was still alive. However what his eyes showed him saddened him slightly. Shikamaru opened and closed his eyes to be sure that what he saw was in fact reality and not just a dream.

But the landscape and mist around him didn't change in the slightest. He was still lying on his back in the long golden grass. The grass gave a warm and welcoming illusion, but the cold air shocked him back to reality.

Last time shikamaru was awake he was sitting in the warm Hokage office watching the red sunset and doing troublesome paperwork Naruto should be doing if he hadn't disappeared, now he was lying on his back in the middle of a cold savanna grass land. He had no idea how long he has been unconscious or where the hell he even was.

He only knew he was somewhere in the land of waves. The mist gave it away. Shikamaru was completely alone in the middle of a grass field with golden lofty grass that came up to his hips. He wondered where Chouji was as well as Naruto, Ino, Mirai, Kurenai and all his other friends, especially Temari. Where the hell did she end up?

Whoever made them disappear must've used some sort of space, time jutsu to teleport everyone to a different remote area, but he doubted that anyone could survive a jutsu of that magnitude. Plus Sasuke was the last man in the world with a Rinnegan that they knew of.

Shikamaru sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets never letting his guard down. Shikamaru lifted his head so his eyes could meet the sky, but it wasn't for his desire to watch or be the clouds. It was to see the position of the moon. However he couldn't find the moon due to the heavy must hanging in the air.

Shikamaru didn't exactly know where he was, but he knew his village was plus minus West from the village hidden in the mist which was somewhere on this damn troublesome island. So if he found the mist village he could just keep going west then he'll reach the coast near Konoha. From the coast he'll be able to find his way back to Konoha. However the million dollar question is in which direction is the mist village.

Shikamaru sighed yet again, he'll look for the mist village tomorrow. He just prayed the mist will let up.

 **xXx**

Tenten sighed. Why did she have to end up in the damn desert? Of all the places in the world she could've waked up to, she just had to wake up to blazing heat in the bloody desert and just too make things even more fantastic...

Her baby bump was starting to show. How could she not have noticed she was pregnant up until now? Sure she felt nauseous sometimes and threw up, but she didn't think much of it. She thought it was like a recurring stomach bug or something like that. However luckily it made Tenten go on less missions and fight less.

At least she wasn't the only one. Hinata also didn't realize she was pregnant and as far as Tenten knew, Hinata may be further along than she was. After all Hinata started to get nauseous a week prior to Tenten.

However Tenten had to have fallen pregnant while Neji was still alive and in the village. Tenten's eyebrows furrowed as she worked out how long Neji has been dead and when he left for Iwagakure. She didn't have anything better to do anyway. However Tenten froze in disbelieve as she finally figured out for how long she has been pregnant already...

Impossible... How can she be pregnant for 18 weeks already? Tenten stood rooted to the spot in shock. However her face fell in sadness. That means Neji has been dead for 16 weeks now... Tenten sighed, this must be how Kurenai felt when she was pregnant with Mirai and Asuma died. Tenten placed a hand on her bloated belly.

However something caught her attention and dragged her back to reality. She replaced her hand to the back of her ninja pouch to be ready to grab a kunai if necessary. Luckily in the end it wasn't necessary.

"Sasuke?" Tenten said surprised as she let her hand fall to her side again.

She hasn't talked to anyone for 3 days now. Sasuke stopped walking and looked at her to show that he is in fact acknowledging her presence.

"Tenten, have you seen anyone from Konoha?" Sasuke asked monotonously he glimpsed at her stomach, but he didn't say anything.

"As a matter of fact I did." Tenten answered seriously.

"Who?" Sasuke asked curiously.

"Sakura." Tenten said grimly.

"Where is she now?' Sasuke asked his eye narrowing slightly, he didn't like the way Tenten answered him.

"I don't know. I saw Sakura last night right about the time the lightning started, which I assume was your doing, but when I wanted to approach her a guy smacked her over the head and hauled her away in a wagon." Tented explained perplexed.

"Were where you when all this happened?" Sasuke asked, anger rising in his voice.

"I hid behind a dune." Tenten said while looking away.

"Why didn't you help her?" Sasuke asked angrily.

"There's nothing I could've done really." Tenten answered looking down.

"Why not?" He asked glaring at her.

"Because I'm pregnant. If you haven't realized it already." Tenten answered with crossed arms as she looked up at him, but she mumbled the last part.

"What? When did this happen?" Sasuke asked surprised as his one visible eye widened slightly.

"About 18 weeks ago." Tenten sighed.

"First Hinata and now you." Sasuke said sighing.

"Hey, it's not like I planned this pregnancy!" Tenten exclaimed annoyed.

"I'm assuming it's Neji's child." Sasuke said in his normal emotionless tone.

"Who else's?" Tenten asked rhetorically with a blunt tone.

Did this guy think she was whore or something. Who else's baby would it be except Neji's...

"Who took Sakura?" Sasuke asked getting back on topic.

"I don't know who they are, but they were 4 men. 2 Had brown hair, one with yellow eyes the other with blue. The other man had black hair with dark eyes. The last man has white hair like Kakashi, but with blue eyes." Tenten answered trying to remember them.

"Did they say why they're taking her or where?" Sasuke asked tension in his voice.

"No." Tenten said shaking her head.

"Alright, thank you Tenten. Where were they heading?" Sasuke asked.

"To the east, the land of fire." Tenten said looking in that direction.

"You should go to Suna and rest there for a few days before heading back to Konoha." Sasuke said in his usual monotone.

"I know. What direction is it in?" Tenten asked with a sigh.

"South East, I just came from there. It's only half a day's travel from here." Sasuke said as he started walking again, but this time he headed in another direction.

"Great." Tenten said sarcastically as she started her strenuous journey again.

Even in winter this place was as hot as hell, if not hotter. Why would anyone live in the damn desert?

 **xXx**

Shikamaru opened his eyes. It was still cold, but at least the mist let up a bit and he could see in front of himself as well as where the sun was. Shikamaru took a glimpse of the shadows the trees made then turned his head to his right. He stared at that direction for a while, sighed then started walking towards his destination.

The village hidden in the mist.

Shikamaru knew he needed to get to the leaf village as soon as possible. After all the leaf village needed its key strategist as well as its Hokage. He also needed to protect his village and the villagers if they didn't suffer the same fate the shinobi did.

This was going to be the longest journey of Shikamaru's life.

Shikamaru didn't rush his journey however, because he didn't have any food or water with him so it was better to store his energy as well as his chakra. Shikamaru sighed.

He woke up alone and had no idea if there was anyone even close to him and if he where to find someone would they be an enemy or a friend. How many Konoha ninja was on this island? Was there even someone who woke up close to him? Was the leaf village still in one piece? Was Temari safe? All these questions kept repeating themselves in Shikamaru's mind as he walked with his hands in his pockets.

Shikamaru was worried about the leaf. The Hokage was missing after all as well as all the high ranked shinobi who could've leaded the village until the Hokage returned, like Kakashi.

Shikamaru's mind dwelled to Suna. How where they doing? Are they still in one piece? He was also worried about Temari. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach that Temari was in danger, but he couldn't do anything about it. He didn't even have the vaguest idea where she was.

He found his mind constantly dwelling on Temari's well-being as he made his way alone to the mist village. He also wondered how far he was supposed to travel until he finally reached the rain village. Shikamaru prayed that Kurenai and little Mirai were also safe. He prayed Mirai disappeared to the same place Kurenai did so they could protect each other. They were both good Shinobi after all...

However he promised Asuma he would protect them both and if one of them died he would be swimming in guild, whether it was his fault or not. A promise is still a promise. Shikamaru did feel a little better knowing Kurenai was a capable Shinobi and could protect herself and Mirai, but not much.

Mirai was also growing into a promising ninja, but he still would've liked to keep an eye on them. Shikamaru walked until the sun started to disappear behind the savanna landscape's trees. He decided to camp the night there, but while there was still light he went to look for food. Shikamaru smirked when he found a river. Now he's got a water resource.

Shikamaru gathered wood and made a clearing for a fire, but before he lit the wood he went hunting for some meat. It didn't take him long however to find some food. He took his kunai out his bag then waited for a fish to jump out of the water, a fish that jumped to its death, and as the fish leapt into the air Shikamaru pegged him to a tree behind the fish. It was by far the easiest way to get food.

Shikamaru walked over the water of the river and took his fish. He looked at the setting sun. The sun painted the once blue sky in mixed colours of yellow, orange, red and pink. The colours blended together as they collided with one another in the clear sky. However even though the sky was clear, it was starting to get hazy due to the signature fog that seemed to swallow the sky once more like it did every night when it returned.

So that must be west. However knowing which way West is didn't do him much good since he had no idea where the he'll on the land of waves he is. So instead of walking he cooked some fish. This was a troublesome situation and a even more troublesome island. Shikamaru lit the fire and cooked his fish.

He watched the crackling embers of the fire in front of him burning away slowly. Almost calmly, like it was a timid little thing that couldn't cause much destruction. But he knew better. If you set this timid little thing free in the wild, it will destroy everything. The whole damn forest. However there was almost a peaceful atmosphere, a serendipity, but there was too much tension in the air for it to be perfectly peaceful.

Time passed slowly with a maddening pace. A pace that could even drive a patient man crazy.

 **xXx**

"Well... This is quite the predicament." Sai said with a fake smile.

He's been flying over the ocean on his bird for a day and a half now and he was really pushing his limit. He could feel his chakra dancing on the edge of depletion. He could've gone another root where he could land by now, but that would've taken longer since he'd just fly over the land of flowers and land in the land of void.

A day and a half back Sai woke up in a beautiful field of flowers. Ino would've loved it, but sadly she wasn't there with him. He didn't recognize where he was until he saw a certain flower. A blue flower that only grew in the land of flowers. That was the only reason he knew where he was.

He also knew he was in the west point of the land of flowers because of the fact that those blue flowers only grew on the west side of the land. He knew this because his girlfriend was a florist. He sometimes saw her ordering these when he would visit her while she was working in the flower shop and when he would ask her what flower it is she would talk hours and hours about it.

Even though he wasn't much interested in flowers he didn't mind her talking the whole day about certain flowers because she always had that delighted twinkle in her eyes when she talked about it and she glowed when she talked about something she loved. Hearing her talk about something she loved so passionately made him happy. Sai thought about bringing back some of the flowers in the land of flowers, but he knew they'd never survive the way back. So he didn't bother, he just left them to grow peacefully.

But that was two days ago. He was currently riding a bird across the ocean. It was the fastest way back to the leaf village after all. Sai scowled as it was getting harder to maintain his bird, but at least he wasn't flying over the ocean anymore. He was now flying over the land of water. Just a little bit more then he'll reach the mist village.

He remembered Sakura telling him the stories of the old team 7's adventures in the mist village and how Naruto had a bridge named after him. The great Naruto Bridge. But what Sai didn't quite understand is why the bridge was only named after Naruto? Sakura, Sasuke and even Kakashi were in that team with Naruto when they saved the mist village and the carpenter and his grandson...

Why wasn't a bridge named after them as well...

Guess the carpenter's beloved grandson took a liking to Naruto the most...

Sai looked at the ground as a light caught his eye. He saw a little light on the ground that looked like a small fire in the wild. He flew over the fire's smoke and noted that he smelled cooked fish between the smoke. He looked down to try and see who was cooking the fish. Sai didn't fly very high, he flew just above the tree tops.

He squinted his eyes as he tried to see who was there, but as soon as the fish cooker called his name he knew who it was. Sai made his bird disappeared and jumped down to the earth below from branch to branch. He couldn't maintain his bird any longer anyway.

"Shikamaru." Sai smiled as he walked over to Shikamaru who cooked his fish on the fire.

"Hey Sai, where did you suddenly come from?" Shikamaru asked with a smirk.

Shikamaru couldn't believe his luck. He was glad to have found a comrade after only a day. Shikamaru could now get to the leaf village faster than he could have alone. Sai's birds where faster than any boat Shikamaru would've taken.

"I flew on my bird from the land of flowers." Sai said as he sat down in exhausted.

"That's a long distance." Shikamaru said, that must mean he's depleted of chakra.

"Indeed, I almost didn't make it here." Sai said laughing softly.

"Here." Shikamaru said sighing.

"What?" Sai asked confused as he looked at the fish Shikamaru was offering him.

"Take the fish. You look exhausted." Shikamaru said with a bored face.

"What about you?" Sai asked surprised.

"I'll just catch another one. This land of water fishes like jumping out the water frequently. So even though it's troublesome it's not hard." Shikamaru said nonchalantly as he shrugged.

Sai needed that fish more than he did at that moment anyway.

"Thank you Shikamaru." Sai said as he took the fish from him.

"Have you seemed anyone besides me yet?" Shikamaru asked still sitting across the fire from Sai.

He'll catch his fish later, Sai's answer was important.

"No, what about you?" Sai asked eating the fish, he didn't realize how hungry he was up until now.

However Sai hadn't eaten in a whole day, so it was reasonable to be ravenous.

"Not yet." Shikamaru answered with a sigh as he looked up at the stars that were covered in mist yet again.

* * *

 **A/N: Heeyy guys! I actually finished this chapter a few days ago, but I was so busy with my dance competition I couldn't get around to posting it. So far I got two high silvers and a gold so they all qualified for nationals :P, but tomorrow will be my last dance so we'll see how that goes.**

 **I realized today that I suddenly turned into our studio's make-up artist… However I was really not good in make-up up until now… I really got good in doing make up (especially my own). Plus I got my drivers today :D only because I charmed the guy who tested me a little… Just a little bit… (Keep in mind seducing and charming is different...)**

 **Anyway I'll try and update soon, but I recently only just wanted to read stuff instead of write, so yeah. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and remember to vote and comment… Please…**


	24. CHON

_**"I watched you hold the son in your arms while he bled to death. He grew so pale next to you. The world is so pale next to you. Your hair is coxcomb red, your eyes are viper black." - Coxcomb red, Songs: Ohia**_

* * *

The peaceful land of the land of warriors have experience calmness to their land for quite some time, but since the incident in the leaf village there was a certain individual causing amok almost everywhere his strong legs carried him.

The man stayed unknown to the citizens of the land of warriors and those of them who made contact never spoke of whom they met. They only mumbled something about youth, a green jumpsuit, extreme strength training and lastly a woman. Nothing else was known about that man.

He traveled in the day, occasionally challenging and demolishing every dojo he came across, and disappeared in the night. But as far as the dojo's go, he remained undefeated. Yet he never stayed or claimed them as his own. He traveled so fast no normal eye could see him coming, they could only feel the wind he left in his wake. However some have seen the green blur ran past. Not even trained eyes could fully follow his movements.

The people believed however that he disappeared at night to sleep, or defeat a warrior village with the lands proudest warriors. Who was this man? They did not know. But it has been heard that he goes by the nickname _the green beast of Konoha._

At least the daimyo now knew where to send the bill for each dojo the green beast damaged...

Lee grimaced at the boy who told him all this. The boy seemed slightly amused by Lee's reaction. He was a young kid, Lee guessed him to be around 9 years old. A little older than Mirai. He tried to steal from Lee while Lee gave a passionate speech about training hard to a samurai.

However to the little boy's dismay Lee had noticed his antics and when he tried to run away Lee simply grabbed his color and refused to let him go, exclaiming how unyouthful his behavior is. The boy struggled in his grip to get away, but after a while he realized it was futile and gave up with a loud sigh. The boy had rugged dirty clothes with dirty hair to match. His hair was a red that seemed to compete against the red of Gaara's hair. A red that mimicked blood.

He had skin that was familiar with the sun and didn't burn easily beneath its rays, but somehow his skin stayed fair and was paler for someone who spent so much time in the sun. His eyes took on a dark color that resembled black, like Sasuke's onyx eyes, with a lighter shade of black rims around the edges that never seemed to miss any detail of his surroundings. They were eyes that noticed.

The samurai apologized for the boy's actions and offered to take him away, but Lee told him it wasn't necessary he'll handle it. However the samurai only wanted to escape from Lee's youthful speech. So with a soft sigh he listened on. After what felt like hours for the samurai and the boy did Lee finish and the Samurai excused himself and escaped.

Lee focused his attention on the boy now. Lee gave him a speech of how unyouthful his actions where and that he should aspire to be a better man. The boy didn't have much of a choice, but to listen. Until he asked if Lee wasn't looking for a woman, which shifted Lee's attention. But it didn't make him go away. Lee asked him how he knew that so the boy told him and here they are now.

However Lee had let go of the boy's color, but still he couldn't escape from lee. He knew Lee was faster than him, by far.

"I'm not that bad." Lee said frowning down at the boy with tattered clothes.

"Come on. You destroy half the dojo's you challenge. It's insane! Plus you scare commoners shitless every time you run by unexpectedly." The boy said rolling his eyes.

"That language is very unyouthful for someone your age." Lee said scolding the boy again who sighed.

"My name is Rock Lee, what's yours?" Lee asked with his hands on his hips.

"Chon." He answered simply.

"You don't have a last name?" Lee asked surprised.

"I do." Chon shrugged as Lee rose a bushy eyebrow questioning.

"It's not important." Chon said looking away.

"Where are your parents?" Lee asked seeing as he's not going to get a last name out of him.

"They were killed by rogue ninja." The boy said sadly as he lowered his head slightly.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Where do you live then?" Lee asked as the boy looked up at him again.

"Nowhere really. I just wander around." The boy said nonchalantly.

The boy had fire in his eyes. Lee could see resilience in his eyes. He possessed the same eyes as Naruto.

"You possess a lot of youth Chon. How about you come back to Konoha with me? I could get you a place to stay and you could enroll in the academy and become a youthful ninja." Lee grinned with a fist, but he had seriousness to his tone, the boy stared at him with a shocked expression.

"Why would I do that?" He said not use to someone showing him this much kindness.

"Because you can gain everything in Konoha. Here you have nothing, except a criminal record." Lee said hitting Chon with the truth.

"Your Hokage won't let me live there. I'm a stranger with a criminal record. A possible threat." The boy said looking at Lee like he's crazy.

"You don't need to worry about the Hokage." Lee laughed.

"Why's that?" He boy asked skeptically.

"He's a reasonable youthful man. He also had his share of hardship and would welcome a youthful man like yourself in the village. He'll give a troubled boy a chance for a bright future." Lee grinned with a thumb up.

"I can be a threat?" Chon said again with a raised eyebrow.

"You underestimate the power of our Hokage. The power of our shinobi and the power of youth the leaf village has as well as the power of friendship we all share." Lee exclaimed with a fist making Chon adopt a look that screamed 'I'm in the presence of a dumbass'.

"What if I don't want to be a ninja?" Chon dead panned crossing his arms.

"You're just being stubborn now. A youthful boy like you who've seen a lot of bad things wants to become a ninja so he can protect and not see only bad things anymore or that boy will only wither away." Lee answered.

"You don't know anything about me." Chon said glaring at him.

"I've seen a lot of death in my life and I've lost people I care about as well, I also have people close to me I want to protect. That's how I know that you want to protect the people close to you again. You don't want too see death anymore." Lee said as his tone turned to a solemn seriousness.

"That doesn't mean you know anything about me." Chon said crossing his arms.

"I don't have to, I can see it in your eyes." Lee replied.

"What about the woman your looking for?" Chon asked curiously.

"We'll look for her on the way back to Konoha. Together." Lee said with a grin.

"So are you coming my youthful friend?" Lee asked with a ridiculous grin.

"Sure why not. I have nothing better to do here anyway." Chon shrugged, he also knew the rogue ninja weren't far behind him.

If he goes with the youthful green idiot then he'll get away from the rogue ninja and he'll have a ninja that can protect him...

"Why are you looking for this woman anyway?" Chon asked curiously.

"Because I made a promise to a comrade that was dear to me." Lee said his smile wavering slightly from the memory.

"Who is she?" Chon asked.

"My other dear comrade." Lee answered.

"Now enough with all these questions, we have a village to return to! Hop on!" Lee said as he turned around and knelt so Chon could hop on his back.

Chon knew it was risky going closer to the people threatening him and the woman who killed everyone he loved, but at least they'll lose his movements for a while. Meaning they'll have to find him again. So he'll be safe until then and as a bonus he'll get to learn how to protect himself.

"Why? I can walk on my own." Chon asked confused.

"Because my youthful friend, you can't keep up with me, yet. But do not fear! I will train you in the power of youth until you can!" Lee exclaimed as Chon sweat dropped.

"Okay..." he said hesitantly as he hopped on Lee's back, wondering if he's making the biggest mistake of his life.

"Which way is the harbor?" Lee asked standing up effortlessly to his full height with Chon on his back.

"That way." Chon said pointing to the West.

However Chon was not prepared for the speed in which Lee traveled. He nearly fell of Lee's back when he jumped into a sprint, luckily he managed to grab Lee's neck in time. He had heard about the green beast's speed, but this was ridiculous...

His speed was inhuman. Chon watched as the world whiz past him.

"How are you this fast?" Chon managed to ask.

"With extremely hard youthful training and I removed my leg weights. They usually slow me down considerably." Lee answered as Chon stared at him like he lost his mind.

"Why are you in such a rush?" Chon asked curiously.

"Because I need to return to my village and I need to find my comrade." Lee answered again.

"What did you promise your other comrade?" Chon asked watching trees fly by.

"I promised him I'll protect her." Lee answered his tone adopting a more serious one.

"Why did he ask you? Can't he just do it himself?" Chon asked resisting the urge to scoff.

"He died on a mission about four months ago." Lee answered, Chon was glad he didn't scoff.

He would've sounded like a total dick if he scoffed. Chon didn't answer and the conversation went quite. However it wasn't long before Chon started yawning and his eyes grew heavy. He hardly slept the night before because he had to avoid some rogue ninja that pestered their land and some that were looking for him. But Chon didn't sleep well at nights anyway because when you live in the streets you always had to sleep with one eye open.

Chon shut his eyes while Lee ran. He was so tired. He never realized how tired he was up until now. After a few minutes his consciousness was completely gone and dreams came in its place. He dreamt of a wonderful time were he could've slept without worry and where his parents where still around to tell him lies about how beautiful the world was.

But when his parents died he quickly learnt that beauty was a curse on the world. It kept mankind from seeing who the real monsters where. Nobody thought the beautiful woman that walked into their village was the monster that would kill them all.

It was the first time in over a year and a half that Chon slept deeply without worrying about thugs that was going to kill him or take him away.

He was free to dream.

 **xXx**

The sun was lowering in the land of demons making its land gleam with orange. Naruto's favorite color. Naruto never really got why it was called the land of demons because there was nothing remotely close to demons that was on the land. There were only trees, flowers, animals and humans.

Naruto woke up in the wolf village and traveled through the bone village towards the land of mountains. See now that is a land that was called after what it really was. A stupid land covered in mountains that tried to kill Naruto on his way to the moon village which was in the land of void. Naruto was really irritated by all the cliffs that tried to slow him down. Luckily he was a ninja and ninjas could use chakra.

Otherwise he would've taken months to get through the land of mountains or fell to his death trying... However there where safe routes you could take through the land of mountains, but that would take Naruto even longer.

Naruto had sensed Sai's chakra west of him, but it moved away from him at a rapid pace. He also felt bushy brows chakra south of him with a strange chakra he didn't recognize at all, but it did remind him slightly of Sasuke and Tenten's chakra if it was mixed. They too were heading at a rapid pace to the west so Naruto decided he will go to the west as well.

He didn't think he'd meet up with Sai or bushy brow, but it was his best guess at where the leaf village was. Naruto traveled as fast as he could. He dashed through open fields and over mountains not considering the amount of chakra he was using. However it didn't matter to Naruto. He practically almost had an infinite amount of Chakra with Kurama inside him.

Naruto didn't like relying all his power on Kurama and would rather protect the people he loved with his own two hands and strength, but he did use Kurama more in fights. After all even tailed beasts needed to stay in shape. He needed to let Kurama out to taste freedom every now and then to keep him from whining. However they were still a team and a team fought together in fights.

But right now all that didn't matter. What mattered was getting back to Konoha and finding Hinata. So he'll lean on Kurama's power until he was back home with Hinata next to him. He prayed that she was safe and not pushing herself to hard. He hoped that someone was by her side to keep her safe. Naruto would've loved to be by her side himself, but unfortunately fate wasn't kind to him.

However Naruto knew he had a lot of friends he could trust in a lot of places and he knew they would take care of Hinata if she came across their paths. He also knew Kiba would sniff her out or Shino's creepy bugs will find her since they both cared deeply for their teammate. Naruto had made good time, it was only a few days and he already made his way out the land of demons and into the land of mountains.

But damn was he getting tired. He could feel the journey taking a toll, but maybe that was because of the little to no breaks he took. But the village needed him. Hinata needed him.

Naruto wondered if he'll see Tsukinoagain. He was passing through the moon village after all. However he hasn't been there in a very long time. Not since he was a gennin at least. Tsukinoprobably wouldn't even recognize him anymore. Even if he saved her from being controlled by Shinga. Naruto wondered how the moon village was doing. He hoped it was going well there.

However he wasn't there to catch up to the people of that village. He was just passing by.

He had a village to run. The woman he loved to find and his future child to protect.

 **xXx**

Kiba was in awe about how bad his luck was. He has never seen something this unlucky happen before to anyone. He also has never been this unlucky. Why did fate hate him? What did he do to karma to deserve his?

Kiba thought back to what he might have done to anger karma. He couldn't really think about anything except a few minor pranks, teasing Hinata and that one time he walked around with a bug poisoning can, but he did replace the poison with water. He then made his way to Shino's place and started spraying the water around, acting like he was killing the bugs just to get him mad... and he was bored...

It didn't take long before Shino came out his house, like expected, but what Kiba didn't expect was Shino's whole family coming out after him. The mischievous glint that was in Kiba's eyes vanished as he realized just how screwed he was at that moment.

"Kiba, what are you doing?" Shino asked without emotion, except the slight anger in his voice.

"It's not what it looks like." Kiba said with a awkward smile, but things didn't look good for him at that moment.

He stood with a bug poisoning can in his hands after all.

"I think he's killing the bugs." A female Aburame said bluntly.

"I think we should teach him a lesson." A male Aburame suggested.

"I agree." Shino's dad said.

"Come on Shino, we're all buddies here. I can explain." Kiba said as chills ran down his spine at the thought of bugs crawling all over him.

"You heard my father's decision." Shino said and with that the onslaught began.

They only stopped when one of them realized it was just a joke and the poison was replaced with water. Kiba has never been beaten as badly as he was that day. Well actually not beaten, but he did develop a healthy fear of bugs. He still got chills every time he thought back to that time. And where was Akamaru the whole time?

He was sitting calmly on the sidelines watching everything and not lifting a paw to help.

Akamaru didn't think it was a good idea so he sat under a tree and watched Kiba. Akamaru was right. However Kiba should've realized that when he smelt all those fresh scents. After the Aburame clan left Kiba on the ground to die alone Akamaru continued watching him with smug amusement before he finally dragged the petrified man away.

He already paid the price for that prank when thousands of disgusting bugs crawled over him. Or was karma really that petty?

Anyway when everyone faded away as well as Kiba himself, he woke up in none other place than Iwagakure itself...

The village that waged war against Kiba's own village.

When Kiba opened his eyes he stared straight into bars. Bars of a prison. He spent two days in prison already and it vexed him. He didn't even have a chance, they locked him up when he was asleep. Does these people have no honor... or do only the samurai believe in honor and not attacking a sleeping enemy?

Kiba's ears perked up at the sound of a heavy door opening. It was the door that led to the hall of cells where he was locked in. A familiar scent floated to Kiba's nose as he heard numerous footsteps. It was the last person he would've expected to come to his aid.

"I never thought I'd be this glad to see you." Kiba laughed with amusement as well as relieve.

"Did you miss me?" Kiba's savior smirked smugly, amusement painted all over her face.

Temari stood behind the bars in all her glory. She had her fan on her back and her hands on her hips. She wore Iwagakure's headband around her neck and the Tsuchikage's hat on her head. Kiba wondered what she did to be Tsuchikage again and where she found an Iwagakure headband, but he'd ask her later. Right now Shikamaru's troublesome woman was getting him out.

Iwagakure's Tsuchikage was getting him out...

* * *

 **A/N: Guess who's back!**

 **Temari was actually only supposed to have appeared in the next chapter in another way. But then this fitted so perfectly so I was just like what the hell, I never follow my plans anyway. And besides it won't change what'll happen in the future chapters...**

 **However this chapter would've been a lot longer if Temari didn't make a appearance, but I decided it was a good place to stop the chapter and keep you guys interested and wondering what'll happen or how Temari even got to be the Tsuchikage again :)**

 **Plus welcome to our new oc Chon. He was actually supposed to resemble me because I didn't know how I wanted him, but then I wanted to put this song lyric up so I'm just like whatever we'll just make him like that so the lyric has meaning :'D however my dear readers he isn't just there because of my love for oc's (she said sarcastically) he has a purpose, but you'll only find out what in like ten chapters :'D**

 **Oh and the lyric actually is relevant to Chon and not just because of his appearance. I'm only going to leave you that spoiler/hint and nothing else. If you think you know the relevance leave a comment :)**

 **And do you know how hard it is to work out who has been where for how long since they didn't disappear at the same time... I even have to keep notes now so I won't confuse something or a have a time wrong :|**

 **Remember to comment! I love reading comments.**


	25. TEMARI THE TSUCHIKAGE

_**"Your eyes change colour when you lie. I can see it I'm not blind, yeah. Your eyes, they sparkle in the light, but in the dark I see the true colours of your heart." - Your eyes, black coffee ft. Shekhinah**_

* * *

Temari stood before the jail cell with her hands on her hips and a smirk painted on her face as she looked down at Kiba who was sitting on the jail cell bed. Kiba looked back up at her with a relieved expression. She still didn't have all her memories, but she had enough to know Kiba was her friend.

And besides Neji was his comrade and she owed it to Neji to help his comrade. She also owed it to Shikamaru, she knew he cared deeply about all his friends and comrades. So she'll help Kiba in the place of Shikamaru and Neji.

"Are you sure about releasing him lady Temari? He is a enemy ninja from the leaf after all." One of the guards with her asked.

"If I wasn't sure why would I have gone through all the trouble of coming down here?" Temari snapped back at him.

"Why would you release an enemy ninja lady Temari?" The other guard asked confused.

Temari knew most of the ninja in this village was weary of her and didn't trust her at all, but they had good reason not to. They all saw her giving the title of Tsuchikage over to Orochimaru, but the thing that made them trust her even less is that they all saw her fighting with Konoha against Iwagakure.

She betrayed them and she killed their fourth Tsuchikage. That's what made them weary and afraid of her.

Even so, she wasn't planning on staying in this village to run it or to regain their trust. She was here simply to lend Kiba a hand. And the easiest way to get him out of jail without causing a political uproar was to regain her short lived title of Tsuchikage. Luckily she wasn't as unlucky as Kiba.

She woke up on a mountain overlooking the whole village two days prior to Kiba, who woke up in the damn center of the village. They immediately dragged his sorry, unconscious ass to jail.

"Because this man right here was my bug in Konoha. He constantly leaked information of Konoha to me as well as help me infiltrate Konoha's ranks." Temari lied convincingly, Kiba raised an eyebrow before he realized it was an act and played along.

Kiba had to make a mental note that Temari was a good liar.

"My apologies Lady Temari, I was unaware." The man said embarrassed.

"That's because it's above your pay grade." Temari growled back.

"Now unlock the damn door, a Iwagakure spy should not be locked behind bars." Temari said in a firm tone while Kiba nodded.

"Yes ma'am." The other guard said as he unlocked the doors.

"Finally." Kiba exclaimed glaring at the guards.

"Took you long enough to talk some sense into them." Kiba said looking at Temari who smirked again slightly.

"You can give your Konoha headband to me then, since your mission is over." The guard said as Kiba walked past.

Temari saw the small scowl on his face. That headband was precious to him. He wore the mark of his village proudly on his forehead. That headband showed where his loyalties lied and he worked hard to obtain that headband. So Temari decided to interject.

"Who said his mission is over and who said you could take that headband? Who's the Tsuchikage here?" Temari said firmly as she held out her hand to Kiba who's scowl faded from his face and was replaced by thankfulness as he removed the headband from his forehead.

"You are ma'am." The guard said looking down.

"Exactly, now let me do my job." Temari said as she took the headband that Kiba placed in her hand and switched it with a Iwagakure headband in her ninja pouch.

Kiba's eyebrows lifted in surprise. She had two... Temari smiled at his surprise and handed the headband to Kiba who tightened it around his forehead.

"But ma'am he's not from Iwagakure. He has the marks of the Inuzuka clan from Konoha." The guard interjected, again.

Temari sighed in irritation. These guards love questioning her...

"As I was saying it's above your pay grade. Do you see a dog with him?" Temari asked annoyed.

"No." He answered in a unsure voice.

"It's because he defected from Konoha and that's all you need to know." Temari said in a firm voice.

"Now stop questioning me!" Temari said, irritation evident in her voice.

"Sorry lady Temari, it won't happen again!" The two guards exclaimed in fear as they bowed respectfully.

"Let's go Kiba." Temari scoffed as she walked out the prison with Kiba following her.

They walked out the prison and through the village towards the Tsuchikage's office. They received strange looks and glances filled with distrust as they walked through the village towards the Tsuchikage's office, but neither one of them said a word, not even Kiba or Temari. They were cautious, afraid someone might overhear their conversation if they spoke.

However they finally reached the Tsuchikage's office and closed the door behind them. Temari placed the Tsuchikage hat on the desk and removed her fan from her back as she leaned it against the desk. She fell into the chair from tiredness with a loud exaggerated sigh while Kiba removed the Iwagakure headband and placed it on the desk.

"You know how much trouble you caused me by appearing in the middle of the village?" Temari said exaggerated as she also removed the headband she wore around her neck and placed it on the table while getting Kiba's headband from her ninja pouch.

"Well excuse the hell out of me! It's not like I chose where I vanished of to." Kiba exclaimed with a pout as he crossed his arms.

"Don't talk so loudly! There are ears everywhere in this damn village." Temari hissed as she looked around while handing Kiba's headband to him.

"Don't put it on." Temari said as he took the headband and placed it in his ninja pouch.

"Who's ears?" Kiba asked seriously.

"There's some shinobi in this village that still defies me~" Temari started with a sigh.

"You sound like a tyrant." Kiba laughed as he interrupted her.

But he stopped laughing when Temari threw him with a book that was on the desk.

"Can you be anymore childish? This is serious." Temari said while glaring at him.

"And by the way, just so you know, I'm not a tyrant." Temari scoffed with crossed arms.

"Anyway, I'm not worried about this village's shinobi. The people I am worried about are Kabuto and Minoru." Temari sighed.

"But they won't try anything while you're Tsuchikage, will they?" Kiba asked doubtfully.

"You can't be more wrong Kiba. That's exactly when they'll try something. Kabuto doesn't want someone he can't control as the Tsuchikage that's why we're not staying." Temari said.

"We're not?" Kiba asked, he didn't know if he was surprised or not.

"You didn't honestly think we were going to stay here? This place is probably the worst place for us to be at the moment, especially for me, since Minoru and Kabuto already know I'm here. They'll be coming here to take the title and possibly kill me." Temari said seriously.

"How can they possibly know that?" Kiba asked.

"They're irritating little parasites with spy's in this village. They knew I was here the minute I sat foot in this village." Temari sighed, she was so tired of all these things happening.

She just wanted a break from all this.

"By the why how did you manage to be Tsuchikage again anyway? And where did you get those headbands?" Kiba asked curiously with a raised eyebrow.

"I never officially stepped down as the Tsuchikage. I was still Tsuchikage before the war even started and the elders new it. So when I went to the elders they had no choice, but to let me be since the village was in chaos and they had no Tsuchikage. However they didn't like it at all and I'm pretty sure they're behind the assassins that are trying to kill me. Damn hags. As for the headbands, I stole them from two unsuspecting Iwagakure ninja that was making their way back to the village." Temari said smirking, but she rolled her eyes at the mention of the elders.

"Must be rough." Kiba said sympathetically referring to the assassination attempts.

"Not exactly. It gave me a opportunity to make a public point so the other shinobi would get off my back." Temari said scoffing.

"Tyrant." Kiba coughed under his breath.

"What was that?" Temari asked glaring at him.

"Nothing." Kiba said innocently as he looked away.

"We should start moving. I have no idea when kabuto and Minoru will arrive." Temari said seriously.

"What about the Tsuchikage title. Are you just going to leave it for Kabuto?" Kiba asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No. I can't to do that to these people again. I have someone in mind that I'm going to make my successor. He's a good guy and his mind won't get corrupted by power. He'll be a fair Kage. He's loyal to this village and he loves the village and its people. He'll do anything to make it prosper." Temari said with a small smile.

"I hope for this village he's as good as you say he is." Kiba said.

"You'll see for yourself. He'll be here any minute." Temari said.

"That's good. Because if what you're saying about Kabuto is true, then we should really start going." Kiba said seriously.

Just then a knock on the door came. Kiba turned his head towards the door as his guard came up while Temari sat upright and propped her head on her hands as she rested her elbows on the desk.

"Come in." Temari said with a strong voice.

The door knob turned and the door opened slowly. A man with white hair and dark eyes stepped in calmly. He turned his head while he entered and his eyes met Kiba's.

"You!" They both exclaimed in unison as they growled at each other, well it was mostly Kiba who growled.

The white haired man was more surprised than he was angry. Kiba however look like the guy had stolen candy or something from him. He was glaring and growling at him the whole time. The white haired man went by the name Toshio. He was a calm man who was never really riled up. He thought his actions through before he acted. Toshio wasn't an impulsive man, he was smart and strategic. He was a great leader, plus he was strong. He also looked deeper into situations and didn't just see the surface details.

That's why he didn't attack Kiba. He was looking deeper into what was going on. He didn't judge a book by its cover.

"You two know each other?" Temari asked surprised.

"I won in the fight with him in the war against Konoha." Toshio said amused which made Kiba even angrier.

"You just won because I wasn't ready." Kiba scoffed with a pout.

"Oh, I see. Did he bruise your ego Kiba?" Temari asked with a smirk that was laced in amusement.

"Shut up Temari! Nobody asked your opinion!" Kiba exclaimed angrily at a amused Temari who laughed.

"Careful, that's our Tsuchikage you're talking to." The man warned, making Kiba scoff and pout again.

"You're glad I showed mercy and didn't kill you. Pouting like that doesn't help you find your dignity." The man laughed, Kiba was so mad now you could literally see him turn red from anger.

"That's it! I'm going to kill you!" Kiba exclaimed as he launched for the man, but he was shot back by a blast of wind when Temari clapped her hands together.

"That's enough Kiba! Calm down and sit down!" Temari yelled at him.

"I'm not a dog." Kiba said glaring at her, however he still complied to her orders.

"Could've fooled me." She smirked back making Kiba growl at her.

"In all due respect lady Tsuchikage, why is this man here?" Toshio asked calmly, he was probably one of the only shinobi in this village that wasn't trying to kill her.

"I think you already know what's going on." Temari said as the air grew serious.

"I know the basics, but not everything. However maybe you should've left him in prison to not raise more suspicion." Toshio said with his hands in his pockets.

"It's wrong keeping an innocent man in prison." Temari said.

"He's not that innocent. He waged war against us." Toshio replied.

"Wrong. We waged war against them. He only defended his village. Do you think we should keep a man who protected his village in prison?" Temari asked gently.

"Probably not." Toshio answered with a small smile.

"Toshio I'm retiring as the Tsuchikage and I'm making you my successor. I have discussed this with the elders. Yet the old hags are still trying to kill me." Temari said, but she mumbled the last part under her breath.

"Why me?" Toshio asked with slightly widened eyes.

"You're strong, smart and not impulsive. You'd make a good Tsuchikage. You survey a situation and choose the best action to take." Temari answered.

"What makes you say that? You haven't seen me on missions." Toshio asked curiously.

"You were the only man in this village who found out why I killed the fourth Tsuchikage and became the fifth Tsuchikage. I never wanted to be the Tsuchikage." Temari said with a sigh at the end.

"Why retire after just two days?" Toshio asked.

"You waited two days before busting me out of jail?" Kiba asked outraged.

"Shut up Kiba! The grown-ups are having a conversation." Temari exclaimed at Kiba who sat in the corner.

Kiba glared at her as he mumbled extremely rude things under his breath.

"I don't have the right to be Tsuchikage. It's not right. It's your village not mine. Don't act like you're not glad I'm stepping down." Temari said with a smile, however her smile turned to a amused smirk at the end.

"I see." Toshio said smiling.

"But be warned Kabuto is on his way to take the title back. Don't let him have it." Temari said with a smirk as she stood up and took the Tsuchikage hat.

"You can count on me Lady Temari." Toshio said with a smirk as well, while Temari placed her fan on her back.

"It's just Temari." Temari said amused as she placed the hat on his head and walked towards the door.

"Why are you leaving so soon?" Toshio asked turning around to watch her.

"I'm sorry I can't stay and show you the ropes, but Kabuto is after me and I need to get out of this village. It's already hard to beat him as it is. It'll be even harder with a whole village trying to assassinate me." Temari said seriously.

"It's a shame people only saw the surface of the situation. You're actually a decent person Temari." Toshio said calmly.

"So I've been told." Temari said as she opened the door with Kiba following her.

"Take care of yourself Temari." Toshio said with a reassuring smile.

"Same to you. Make this village proud and show them a Tsuchikage greater than they ever seen before." Temari said with a smirk before she left the room with Kiba and closed the door.

"Let's go home." Temari sighed while Kiba smiled as they walked away from the Tsuchikage office Leaving the brand new Tsuchikage in his new office.

She felt a little bad not being able to help the poor guy at his new job. Being a Kage is not easy.

But she had faith in Iwagakure's sixth Tsuchikage.

 **xXx**

Another day was ending in the land of warriors. Lee had travelled with Chon all day scaring unsuspecting commoners _shitless_ as they pass by. They were now extremely close to the border of the land of warriors and the land of void. However lee decided to make camp in the land of warriors as the sun settled behind the horizon.

Lee could've made it to the land of void, but then night would already have been upon them and that was dangerous for someone who had no ninja background like Chon. Plus Lee noticed his tired eyes becoming vigilant again. Like he was worried someone was after him. When the sun descended Chon's alertness raised.

Therefore Lee stopped for the day and made a fire to cook some food as well as keep them warm from the ruthless cold that reared its head with the moon. Lee sat on the opposite side of Chon and watched him watch the flames intensely. Until his eyes filled with anger as well as a hint of sorrow, but after a while his eyes grew empty and detached. His eyes seemed to have forgotten to stay vigilant. It was like the flames triggered a unpleasant memory he wasn't especially fond off.

"What's wrong my youthful friend?" Lee asked breaking the silence as he watched Chon closely.

Chon stayed quiet for a long time like he was contemplating whether to answer or not, and for a moment Lee thought he wouldn't answer. However Chon's eyes turned alerted again as they found an answer, but his eyes never left the blazing flames.

"The more distressing the memory, the more persistent it's presence seems to be." Chon said looking at the flames, Lee frowned at his answer.

It seemed so out of place and context. He didn't fully understand why a youthful boy would give a answer like that. However Lee did realize that the answer probably came from his troubled background.

"What makes you say that?" Lee asked anyway.

"The fire... Its flames look exactly like those that swallowed my village, only smaller." Chon said his face contorting to grieve that he tried to keep from appearing on his face, but he was only a boy.

A child cannot fully keep his emotions in check and his face empty. They don't have that control yet, but as they grow older their hearts grow stronger. However Lee knew that sometimes, even though the heart grew stronger, it turns to stone as well sometimes. And when a heart turns to stone, its ability to love cease as well. Lee saw that all too well with Sasuke...

His hardships grew too much for him so his heart turned to stone to protect his mind. But somehow in the process of petrification, the mind lose its sanity somewhere along the line anyway. However Lee knew why...

A person cannot bare being in isolation. People need love and kindness in order to maintain their sanity.

Lee feared that Chon maybe treading down a dangerous path. He knew this because he saw Sasuke dancing at the exact same place Chon was right now.

"Do you want to tell me about it?" Lee asked worry creeping in his eyes.

"No." Chon answered in a softer tone he usually spoke with while Lee simply nodded.

* * *

 **A/N: OMG it's the 25th chapter! (the previous one doesn't count cause it's not part of the story). I feel like 25 is a significant number that has some value, but I can't remember why so yeah...**

 **I also had something important I wanted to say, but I also can't remember that. *sigh*. I'll probably remember in like 5 min after I posted this chapter, but then I'll just forget it again before I post a new chapter.**

 **Stupid memory of mine...**

 **Anyway I love you guys to bits! Comment! Vote! And enjoy your Saturday! **


	26. THE RETURN TO KONOHA

_**"Here we are, look sharp and my baby's in trouble. Writhing in the dark, in the dirt and the rubble. It's the same damn predicament as before. My, my heavy heart can burn a hole through the floor." - Dirt and the rubble, Shadowclub**_

* * *

It's been two weeks since the day the disappearances started and since that day things where really starting to look up for the Leaf village for the first time in a while. There were things that happened while the Konoha 12 where gone. Things that can never be reversed...

Tsunade currently stood in the Hokage's office while looking out the window with crossed arms. Leaf shinobi started piling in the village five days after everyone was gone. Kurenai and Mirai was one of the first to have walked through the great doors of Konoha and thankfully Kakashi followed close after them.

No more paperwork for Tsunade...

At this moment Kakashi was with her in the office, but watching him spin in the office chair made her sick so she opted for looking out the window instead. It was only after a week and a half that the Konoha 12 started making their appearances in the village. They all reported to her one after the other in the Hokage's office, but there was a time difference of a day between their arrivals.

Tenten was the first one to arrive in the Hokage office. Her appearance was quite comical, not how she appeared but how the two leaders in the office acted. Kakashi was sitting in the office chair while Tsunade sat in another one that she had Izumo and Kotetso carry to the office for her. Tenten knocked on the door first before she opened the door and entered the office. However Kakashi and Tsunade's eyes immediately dropped to Tenten's stomach when her full body was visible.

She closed the door and walked to the middle of the room then cleared her throat, gaining the former Hokage's attention again as well as their wide eyes on her face... and not her stomach. Tenten sweat dropped when their eyes didn't decrease in size, but they stayed silent waiting for her to say something.

She was going to sound completely like Shikamaru, but this was _troublesome..._

"Well..." Tenten said with raised eyebrows not knowing what to say to break the awkward silence.

"Well..." Tsunade answered trying her hardest not to stare at Tenten's stomach.

"What's that?" Kakashi asked staring at her stomach.

Tenten face palmed, her patience where running extremely thin with the former Hokages.

"That Kakashi… Would be my stomach." Tenten said crossing her arms over her big stomach.

"No, I mean what happened?" Kakashi asked bewildered as he pointed to Tenten's stomach.

"I think you know perfectly well how pregnancy happens Kakashi." Tsunade said bluntly, now she was face palming as well.

"When did this happen?" Kakashi said still shocked out of his mind, Tsunade however recovered from her shock.

"Obviously when Neji was still alive." Tenten sighed exaggerated, did Hinata get bombarded by stupidity as well when people realized she was pregnant?

Or was it just with her...

"You haven't had a checkup since you fell pregnant, did you?" Tsunade asked with concerned.

"No." Tenten replied as her hands slid to her stomach.

"Do you know how long you've been pregnant?" Tsunade asked as a frown creeped on her forehead.

"About 20 weeks, I think." Tenten answered.

"We should get you a check up." Tsunade said as she stood up and walked towards Tenten.

Tsunade didn't know to what elements she was exposed to or how her health and blood pressure was. The baby could be in serious danger. It made Tsunade concerned about the baby's well being.

"Follow me." Tsunade said as she stood before Tenten.

"Wait, I have something to report first." Tenten said while Tsunade raised a eyebrow in surprise.

"How? When? Why?" Kakashi said as he stared at Tenten in shock, not looking like he heard her comment.

"Get over it already, dammit! These things happen!" Tenten yelled at him annoyed.

"At least I now know why you're moody." Kakashi mumbled as he finally got over his shock.

"I'm not moody! And if I'm moody it's not because I'm pregnant, it's because you're so damn annoying!" Tenten said her irritation reaching its max.

"What do you have to report Tenten?" Tsunade asked ignoring Kakashi and Tenten's outburst.

"Sakura has been kidnapped." Tenten said her arm resting absent mindedly on her big stomach.

Tsunade's eyes grew wide in shock as well as anger while Kakashi scowled.

"By whom?" Kakashi asked seriously.

"I don't know. I didn't recognize them and they also didn't wear headbands. They posed as travelers and transported her in a wagon." Tenten reported.

"Do you know why they would've taken her?" Kakashi asked leaning his head on his intertwined hands.

"No. They also didn't mention anything about their motives or where they were taking her, but Sasuke is looking for her as we speak. He's bound to find something." Tenten said seriously while Kakashi nodded.

"Alright, thank you Tenten. Let's go to the hospital now." Tsunami said walking to the door while Tenten nodded and followed her.

"Don't you have work here to do Tsunade?" Kakashi asked hopeful, not wanting to do paperwork alone.

"No." Tsunade scoffed with amusement as she walked out the door while Tenten followed her out the door towards the hospital, leaving Kakashi sighing heavily.

They arrived at the hospital so Tsunade could do a check up on Tenten. Tsunade would normally have let a nurse do something so simple, but she had nothing better to do and she knew Kakashi would make her help with the paperwork if she returned to the office. So instead she did a check up on Tenten's baby.

Everything seemed to be normal, but Tsunade was just cornered about the lack of certain minerals Tenten had so she gave her some pills for that and told her to rest since she spent a lot of time in the desert, luckily she wasn't too dehydrated, but she should probably thank Suna for that

"So what's the baby's gender?" Tenten asked curiously as she started stroking her bump absent mindedly.

"You mean babies." Tsunade said with a laugh as Tenten's eyes widened.

"You're kidding." Tenten asked with wide eyes.

"Congratulations." Tsunade said with a smile.

"And the genders?" Tenten asked again.

"A boy and a girl." Tsunade answered while Tenten smiled.

A _boy_ and a _girl_...

 **xXx**

The next day Shino arrived at the hidden Leaf village, but not in the afternoon like Tenten did, he arrived at an unholy hour in the morning. He crept silently through the streets of Konoha while everyone was still sleeping soundly in their warm beds. Layers of blankets shielding them from the cold.

But not Shino.

He was stalking the streets of Konoha until he was in front of the doors of the Hokage's office. Shino looked at the closed door intensely.

"It's still locked... Whoever is in charge is slacking off..." Shino said without emotion.

"You don't happen to be talking about me?" A calm voice said behind Shino.

Shino turned around and looked straight at Kakashi. Speak of the devil...

"It depends if you are in charge." Shino said already knowing he would be the one in charge.

"That would be me." Kakashi said.

"And just so you know, I'm not slacking off... It's four in the morning, nobody gets to office this early. Not even Naruto." Kakashi said with an exaggerated sigh.

"Yet here you are..." Shino shot back.

"I couldn't sleep." Kakashi shrugged.

"So you resorted to paperwork?" Shino asked lifting an eyebrow that was hidden by his hood.

"It's the fastest way to get someone to fall asleep." Kakashi said chuckling slightly.

"So I've heard." Shino said.

"I came to report that I'm back in the village." Shino said with his hands in his pockets.

"Noted, anything else?" Kakashi asked unlocking the door.

"I saw Chouji in the land of lightning heading towards the cloud village." Shino reported revealing Chouji's whereabouts.

"Oh? If you two where in the same place, why didn't he come back with you?" Kakashi asked confused.

"He needed to buy chips, but he probably used that as an excuse to gallivant around the place with Karui..." Shino said not a hint of emotion in his voice.

"I see. Thanks shino." Kakashi said amusement evident in his voice.

"No problem." Shino said as he left for his house.

 **xXx**

Ino smiled warmly as she stopped before the familiar gates of her village. She wasn't gone for long, but she missed her village. She missed Sai, she was worried about him too. She smiled at the village in front of her as she made her way to the Hokage's office.

It was well into the afternoon and in a few hours the sun would kiss the horizon as they met after another day of their usual cycle of separating and meeting. Ino stopped in front of the Hokage's office and knocked. She waited for whoever was inside's approval before she entered.

"I came to report my return." Ino said with a smile.

"Welcome back then." Kakashi said returning her friendly smile.

"It's good to be back." Ino said with a content sigh while resting her hands on her hips.

"Say... has Sai returned yet?" Ino asked curiously.

"Not yet. Only you, Shino and Tenten." Kakashi replied.

"Oh." Ino said slightly disappointed.

"Do you have anything else to report?" Kakashi asked.

"No." Ino said shaking her head.

"You didn't happen to see unusual travelers with a wagon?" Kakashi asked.

"Come to think of it... I did. They were passing through the land of spirits." Ino said as she thought back.

"Did they say where they were going or who they are?" Kakashi asked seriously.

"No, the only unusual thing they said where that they didn't want to make an enemy out of the Hyuga clan then the other one replied they already where. Why?" Ino asked confused.

"They kidnapped Sakura." Kakashi replied gravely making Ino gasp.

"But why would they worry about making an enemy out of the Hyuga?" Tsunade asked with a worried frowned as she entered the room.

"I don't know." Kakashi said with a sigh.

"We'll call all the Konoha 12 together for a meeting after they all return so we can compare who knows what and maybe find some clues. You're dismissed Ino." Tsunade said while Ino nodded her head and left the office.

Ino's eyebrows furrowed from worry, why would they kidnap Sakura?

 **xXx**

The next day two figures strolled through the gates of Konoha. One specializing in art the other specializing in shadows. A painter and a strategist.

"We're finally home." Sai said taking a deep breath.

"Yeah." Shikamaru said with a small smile and his hands in his pockets as they continued walking.

Both of them weren't much of talkers, except when Sai felt like testing out his new _social skills_ he read in a book, but other than that it was relatively quiet.

Shikamaru just wanted to get back to the village and sleep on a hill in the sun or something. Shikamaru walked calmly through the village with Sai, until they were attacked. Well at least Sai was attacked by Ino.

"Sai!" Ino exclaimed as she caught sight of him.

Sai snapped his head towards her and smiled and for once it didn't look so fake. Ino smiled happily and ran straight into Sai's arms as he wrapped his arms around her while Shikamaru just stood there awkwardly with his hands in his pockets.

"I'm so glad you're okay." Ino said snuggling her head in his neck.

"You would've loved the flowers in the land of flowers. I'll take you there someday..." Sai said softly into her beautiful blond hair.

"Silly Sai, I was there already." Ino said pulling her head back to roll her eyes at him playfully.

"But not with me." Sai said smiling at her which made her chuckle before she kissed him while Shikamaru just sweat dropped.

Shikamaru had to admit, he wasn't bad for a socially oblivious person.

"Hi, Ino..." Shikamaru said bluntly just wanting to remind them of his presence.

However Ino just waved him off, signaling for him to go away. Shikamaru sighed and walked off to the Hokage's office... Completely alone...

"I'll notify Tsunade of your arrival in the village Sai." Shikamaru said boredly not bothering looking back.

"Thank you." Sai called back as he walked away in another direction with Ino.

Well at least he thanked him... It didn't take Shikamaru long before he arrived at the office. He knocked on the door lazily before he entered.

"Shikamaru!" Tsunade and Kakashi both exclaimed happily as he walked in the office.

Shikamaru was surprised that Kakashi was here, but he guessed Tsunade didn't want to do paperwork alone. However Shikamaru didn't like the goofy grins on their faces. It spelled trouble for him.

"We're so glad you're here." Kakashi exclaimed cheerfully as he leaned back on his chair.

"I bet you are..." Shikamaru said bluntly.

Shikamaru waited a few seconds before he sighed and spoke again.

"You're making me in charge again, aren't you?" Shikamaru said with a heavy sigh.

"Yep." They both nodded happily as they stood up, ready to go home.

"Troublesome. Sai's here too by the way." Shikamaru said exaggerated.

"That's good. Tenten, Shino and Ino are here as well, but before we go Shikamaru, there's something we need to tell you..." Tsunade said her tone turning serious as they walked in front of the desk.

Kakashi's face turned serious as well as he leaned against the desk. Shikamaru didn't like the sound of this. He raised an eyebrow to signal that she should continue.

"Something happened while you were away..." Tsunade said her eyes saddening as she looked for the words to say.

"Go on." Shikamaru said waiting for her to go on.

"While you were gone, enemy ninja infiltrated the village. Regrettably the remainder of your team encountered one of the ninja first. However they weren't like Naruto, they were smart, they knew they couldn't fight him so they looked for an opportunity to escape, but it wasn't possible so they tried to defend themselves while they waited for back up. But by the time back up arrived, it was too late. When they finally arrived at the scene Ruth was already dead. Luckily Akira made it out alive." Tsunade said solemnly as Shikamaru's eyes widened.

"But there's more... Sakura has been abducted. We don't know why, who or where they took her." Tsunade said as she started walking to the door with Kakashi following her.

"Noted." Shikamaru said softly as they left.

He heard the door click shut behind him before he walked to the chair and sank into it. He didn't want anyone to see him sitting on the floor looking all pathetic. He had to stay strong until Naruto came, he also needed to stay strong for Mirai and Akira. He turned the chair around and looked out the window, keeping his back to the door. There was no way he could do paperwork now, but he couldn't leave the office unattended until Naruto showed up.

 **xXx**

The next morning Shikamaru sat in the Hokage's chair again while looking out the window. Naruto could do the paperwork when he got back. His mind went to Akira, he must've been devastated. Seeing a friend and comrade die in front of you isn't easy. Mirai must be sad as well, hearing her teammate was dead when she returned to the village.

However losing Ruth meant they weren't eligible for the Chunnin exams anymore. His team would've competed this year, but without Ruth there was a gap. There was a soft knock on the door that pulled Shikamaru out of his train of thought.

"Come in." Shikamaru said lazily as he turned his chair around to face the door.

The door opened slowly as Mirai entered the room looking at the floor. She closed the door and stood silently in the middle of the room not taking her eyes of the floor.

"I heard you were back Shika-sensei." Mirai said softly in a sad voice.

"Mirai, I actually wanted to see you since I was back." Shikamaru said trying to hide his sadness for Mirai, but he knew if she looked into his eyes she would see how sad he was over the loss of his student.

He was always there for Mirai since she was born, so she grew familiar with him and it didn't take her long before she knew him very well. She could tell by looking in his eyes how he felt, even if he hid it.

"So they told you." Mirai said her voice softening even more.

"You know they would've told me as soon as I entered this office." Shikamaru said with a sigh as Mirai nodded.

"I feel like if I was here, maybe Ruth wouldn't have died." Mirai said looking at him for the first time, she had tears in her eyes.

Shikamaru had that exact feeling, but he knew maybe he could've made a difference. If Mirai was there she would most likely have been the one who would've been dead, since she would be the most like Naruto and attack the enemy to protect her teammates.

"It doesn't matter. Neither one of us where there and there is nothing we can do about it." Shikamaru said his face falling.

"I can't believe he's dead." Mirai said sniffing.

"Come here." Shikamaru said standing up and walking to her.

Nothing he could say would change the fact that her teammate is dead. Nothing could make the pain go away. Mirai ran into him wrapping her small arms around his waist. Shikamaru smiled slightly down at her and patted her head comfortably.

"It'll get better, Mirai." Shikamaru said reassuringly while Mirai began sobbing.

Shikamaru stood there with Mirai crying for quite a while before someone interrupted. There was a knock on the door before Chouji made his appearance.

"I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?" Chouji asked with a frown as he stopped munching on his chips.

"No, I was just leaving." Mirai said releasing her sensei while wiping her tears as she walked towards the door.

"Take care Mirai." Shikamaru said.

"Tell your mom I said hi." Chouji said with a smile.

"Will do." Mirai said turning back with a brave smile before she left out the door.

"What happened?" Chouji asked seriously as he turned to Shikamaru the moment Mirai was gone.

"Ruth was killed while we were gone." Shikamaru said sadly as he sighed.

"What?" Chouji gasped with shock.

"Yeah." Shikamaru said.

"I'm sorry Shikamaru. It must be hard for Akira and Mirai. How was he killed?" Chouji asked sadly.

"An enemy ninja attacked and my team was the first to confront the enemy. He killed Ruth before backup arrived." Shikamaru said looking out the window.

"It's hard to believe he's dead. He was so young." Chouji said looking at the floor.

"Whoever did this is going to regret killing Ruth dearly. I'll make sure of that." Shikamaru said in a hard tone as his eyes narrowed from anger.

Chouji looked up at his best friend as his eyed furrowed sadly. Chouji knew it was pointless in trying to talk Shikamaru out of it, so he wasn't going to. However Shikamaru wasn't reckless, he was smart. Chouji knew he wouldn't charge in blindly and get himself killed.

"Do you think Temari is going to go back to the Suna or the Leaf?" Chouji asked changing the subject for Shikamaru's part.

"I honestly don't know. She's too troublesome to be predictable." Shikamaru said turning back to his best friend who smiled amused which made Shikamaru sigh.

"Whatever you say Shikamaru, I personally think she's going to come back to the Leaf first." Chouji said with a knowing smile.

"Where did you wake up?" Shikamaru asked curiously.

"The land of lighting and you?" Chouji asked munching his chips.

"The land of waves. How's Karui?" Shikamaru asked smirking amused.

"Stop smirking like that and she's good." Chouji answered glaring at Shikamaru slightly, however the edges of Shikamaru's mouth lifted anyway.

"If you're done... I'll be leaving now." Chouji said munching his chips.

"Before you go, did you see any suspicious behavior?" Shikamaru asked seriously.

"No, can I ask why?" Chouji asked curiously.

"You'll find out once everyone is here." Shikamaru replied leaning back in the chair.

"Alright, see you later Shikamaru." Chouji smiled as he walked out the office while Shikamaru smiled back.

Shikamaru sighed as he turned the chair around and watched the village. Another day went by and he didn't do any work at all instead when night rolled by he locked the office and walked to a house, but not his.

He walked up to the house and knocked on the door. A few minutes passed before a woman with short curly black hair with brown hazel eyes appeared.

"Hi, I'm Akira's sensei. Can I see him?" Shikamaru asked lazily as the woman's eyes saddened.

"Of course. I'll call him." The woman said sadly as she disappeared into the house.

A minute later Akira appeared at the door with a surprised look.

"Shikamaru-sensei what are you doing here?" Akira asked surprised.

"How are you holding up?" Shikamaru asked as he leaned lazily against the doorframe.

"I'm fine." Akira replied with a smile, but shikamaru saw his smile wavering.

Shikamaru knew Akira wasn't fine. No person on earth would be fine after they watched their teammate be killed before their eyes. He knew he wouldn't be if it was Chouji. Shikamaru remembered what his dad told him when Asuma died...

"Akira..." Shikamaru said with a sigh.

"Yes Shikamaru-sensei?" Akira asked looking up to him.

"It's okay to cry." Shikamaru said with a small smile as he quoted his father.

Akira looked at him, surprised at his words, while his smile fell and his eyes teared up. Shikamaru smiled at him and patted his head as he turned around and walked away. Shikamaru didn't look back as he walked to his apartment and finally went to sleep.

 **xXx**

It was the next day and Shikamaru was half asleep in the Hokage's chair. However Shikamaru found that normal since it was still early in the morning. He was sleeping peacefully, dreaming of peaceful times and clouds. That is until a loud crash woke him up...

"What the hell..." Shikamaru said sleepily as he rubbed his eyes, but he still remained guarded.

Seconds later the door of the Hokage's office swung open to reveal a man with fire in his blue eyes and blond hair. Shikamaru sweat dropped, Lee is rubbing of on Naruto...

However Shikamaru was still glad that Naruto was here. Now he'll only have to advise Naruto. Things where already starting to go back to normal.

"Get out of my chair Shikamaru." Naruto said with a glare.

"Well hello to you too." Shikamaru sighed as he stood up lazily.

Naruto walked past Shikamaru and sat in his chair stroking it fondly.

"I missed my chair..." Naruto said with a smile.

"I can see so." Shikamaru said sweat dropping.

"It's good to be back. Is Hinata back yet? I couldn't find her or sense her chakra." Naruto asked worryingly.

"Not yet." Shikamaru said while Naruto's eyes saddened.

"Anything happen while I was gone?" Naruto asked with a sigh while leaning back in his chair.

"Konoha was attacked, however there was only five casualties. Ruth is among the casualties and Sakura was kidnapped." Shikamaru said seriously making Naruto scowl.

"When did this happen and who took her?" Naruto asked seriously.

"I don't know either of those answers." Shikamaru said with a sigh.

"But some of the Konoha 12 might know things so~" Shikamaru said, but was interrupted.

"We should call a meeting now." Naruto said with a determined face making Shikamaru sigh.

"No, I was going to say we should wait for everyone to arrive in Konoha before calling a _meeting_ to compare evidence." Shikamaru said exaggerated.

"Who's still not here?" Naruto asked.

"Kiba, Sasuke, Hinata and Lee." Shikamaru answered.

"I see. We'll wait a few days then call the meeting." Naruto said.

"Alright. I'll take my leave then." Shikamaru said boredly as he walked to the door.

"Wait, where are you going?" Naruto asked confused.

"I would've said the green hill calling my name, but I'm cold so I'm heading to my couch." Shikamaru shrugged.

"Shikamaru, before you go... I'm sorry about Ruth." Naruto said solemnly.

Shikamaru looked back at him and mustered a small smile in return before he nodded then walked out the room and to his apartment.

 **xXx**

It was yet another day and there was still no word from Temari, but Shikamaru knew she didn't have to report back to him. He just would've liked to know she's save. Just knowing she's safe is enough for him.

Shikamaru was lost in thought walking down the halls of the Hokage mansion with his hands in his pockets. Well until there was a loud crash in the Hokage's office... Again...

"What the hell..." Shikamaru said, while groaning because somehow he knew it was going to be troublesome and to be honest this didn't surprise him at all anymore.

Naruto was troublesome after all.

However when he entered the office, it wasn't Naruto causing the trouble.

"What is it with you two and breaking down this poor door?" Shikamaru asked as he watched the door hanging on his last hinge.

"It's Lee's influence..." Naruto said quickly holding up his hands in defense.

"Do not blame my youthful influence." Lee exclaimed.

"I'm not fixing that just so you know." Shikamaru scoffed until his eyes landed on a young boy in the office who only sighed.

The boy looked like he grew accustomed to Lee's antics already. Shikamaru had curiosity in his eyes, he didn't recognize this boy, but he looked a little older than Mirai.

"Who's this?" Shikamaru asked gesturing to the red haired boy as he entered the office.

"I brought him back from the land of warriors. He is a orphan which I wish to relocate here. I will provide for him myself." Lee said with a confident grin.

"What's your name kid?" Naruto asked with a smile.

"Chon." He said looking at Naruto.

"And your surname?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Uzumaki." Chon replied nonchalantly.

Naruto looked at him surprised as well as Shikamaru while Lee's little mind melt... Leaving only stupidity...

"Long lost brothers." Lee gasped in awe.

"That's not it!" Naruto and Chon exclaimed in unison while Shikamaru face palmed.

"My parents died the day I was born. How can my mother give birth to a little brother if she's dead?" Naruto exclaimed to Lee who replied with a 'oh' while Chon looked surprised at the fact that Naruto was an orphan as well.

"We're not related in any way. We're just from the same bloodline." Chon said bluntly as he stared at the man who brought him here.

"So let me get this straight, you want him to live in the Leaf village?" Naruto asked seriously making Chon doubt that Naruto will say yes.

"That is correct." Lee replied seriously.

"Well then welcome to Konoha." Naruto grinned, stunning Chon.

"But Lee, he'll be your responsibility." Naruto said looking at him sternly.

"Understood." Lee exclaimed determined.

"You two make him sound like a pet." Shikamaru mumbled under his breath.

"What was that Shikamaru?" Naruto asked looking at Shikamaru.

"Nothing." Shikamaru said with a sigh.

"Anything else?" Naruto asked with a smile.

"I actually have a request, if you'll allow me." Chon asked carefully.

"Go ahead." Naruto said gesturing for Chon to ask his request.

"I want to become a ninja." Chon asked bravely.

"That can be arranged. Do you have any experience as a ninja?" Naruto asked looking at Chon.

"My parents taught me the basics before they got killed." Chon said slightly sad.

"We can have Iruka test you and teach you anything you're lacking, and then he can promote you to a gennin if you have what it takes. After that we need to find you a team so you can enter the Chunnin exams." Naruto said lacing his fingers together so he can lean his head on his hands.

"Naruto, Iruka is retired. Shouldn't we enroll him In the academy?" Shikamaru asked with a raised eyebrow.

"He already knows the basics so it will be a waste of time plus I have faith in him." Naruto said smiling.

"Oh and Iruka has nothing better to do with his time... He might as well be resourceful." Naruto shrugged making Shikamaru face palm.

"But if I don't enroll in the academy how am I going to get a team since all the teams are filled when they graduated?" Chon asked confused.

"It just so happen that my gennin team is lacking by a member." Shikamaru said sadly.

"If you graduate you can join Shikamaru's team." Naruto said seriously.

"Thank you I appreciate everything you're doing for me and I'm sorry for your loss." Chon said looking at Shikamaru who nodded a response.

"Alright Lee get him to Iruka and explain the situation." Naruto said amused.

"Yes sir!" Lee exclaimed dashing out the room.

"Wait! You're supposed to take the kid with you!" Naruto yelled after Lee as he jumped up from his chair while Shikamaru and Chon sweat dropped.

"Of course, I almost forgot." Lee said as he reappeared in the office and threw Chon over his shoulder.

"Wait!" Chon exclaimed, but it was too late.

Lee was already sprinting out the office with Chon over his shoulder.

"That poor kid." Naruto mused.

"Did Lee just call you sir?" Shikamaru asked with a frown as he stared out the door after Lee.

"That's new. Maybe you should start calling me sir, Shikamaru." Naruto said amused with a raised eyebrow.

"Not happening." Shikamaru said bluntly.

"But I'm the seventh Hokage." Naruto whined.

"I'll call you sir when you do your own paperwork." Shikamaru said looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Never mind." Naruto said sighing heavily.

The day went by with nothing interesting happening, it was only the next day when things started heating up as well as take a turn for the worst.

 **xXx**

The next day also passed by without any problems until the sun started setting. Shikamaru stood in the Hokage office while Naruto sat in his chair.

"Come in." Naruto called when there was a knock in the door.

The door opened to reveal Sasuke coming in.

"Sasuke." Naruto said as he perked up.

"Naruto." Sasuke replied back.

"I assume you know about Sakura's disappearance." Sasuke said.

"Yes." Naruto replied nodding.

"Did you find her?" Shikamaru asked.

"No. Has Hinata returned yet?" Sasuke asked.

"No." Naruto said worry creeping in his eyes while Sasuke's eyes narrowed, like he knew something they didn't.

"Why do you ask?" Shikamaru said narrowing his eyes slightly while he kept the suspicion out his voice.

"No reason." Sasuke said looking at Shikamaru.

"We should call a meeting now." Naruto said determined.

"A meeting? For what?" Sasuke asked confused.

"What about Hinata and Kiba? They're still not here." Shikamaru interjected.

"We'll have a meeting now to see who knows anything about Sakura's kidnapping." Naruto said seriously.

"As your adviser, I _advise_ you wait a few more days." Shikamaru said exaggerated.

"No, call a meeting now Shikamaru." Naruto said sternly making Shikamaru sigh and walk towards the door.

"You're the one calling the meeting, yet I'm the one who has to assemble everyone. Troublesome." Shikamaru mumbled under his breath.

"What was that Shikamaru?" Naruto asked looking at Shikamaru.

"Nothing." Shikamaru scoffed before he left to find everyone.

Shikamaru walked all over the village finding the members of the Konoha 12 one by one. Shikamaru found Chouji first, bargaining the price of his outstanding bill. Shikamaru found Lee murdering Chon with strength training, Chon gave Shikamaru a grateful expression when Lee left.

Shikamaru found Ino and Sai next in her flower shop, luckily they were only talking and laughing. After about a half hour search he finally found Shino in the damn forest. Lastly he searched for Tenten, luckily he already knew where she was.

Shikamaru walked into the weapon shop, a bell ringing which signified his entrance. The bell drew Tenten's attention making her stand up behind the till.

"See anything you like?" Tenten asked boredly while leaning her head on her hand with her elbow leaning on the counter.

"Sorry Tenten, I'm only here to relay a message. Naruto wants you in his office." Shikamaru said boredly.

"Oh well, I was just about to lock up anyway." Tenten shrugged as she stood up to her full height and walked out from behind the till, exposing her large stomach.

Shikamaru froze as he looked at her stomach silently. Tenten looked at him and sighed.

"I didn't say anything." Shikamaru said defensively as he looked back up.

"But you wanted to." Tenten said bluntly.

"Whatever, let's just go." Tenten said rolling her eyes.

Shikamaru walked with Tenten to the Hokage's office, it would've been quicker jumping on the rooftops, but Tenten was clearly in no state to do something like that so they walked. Shikamaru wanted to ask questions, but he already knew all the answers so it would've been a waste of time.

"How far are you along?" Shikamaru asked with his hands in his pockets.

"Almost 21 weeks." Tenten said placing a hand on her belly absent mindedly while Shikamaru nodded.

"Did Neji know?" Shikamaru asked melancholy.

"He was the one who told me. However he only noticed it when he was reanimated." Tenten said sadly.

"He saw it with his Byakugan when he fought you and Lee, didn't he?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yeah, but Lee was doing most of the fighting. I was just sitting there in shock. However I did deliver the killing blow when I threw a kunai." Tenten said sadly.

"It must've been hard. I don't think I could've done that." Shikamaru said looking down.

"You did it with Asuma..." Tenten replied.

"I didn't want to tough." Shikamaru said with a sigh.

"Same here, it was the hardest thing I've ever done." Tenten said looking down as well.

"Isn't it heavy carrying a kid around in your stomach?" Shikamaru asked amused as he looked at the clouds in the dark sky.

"Of course it is and it's not just one, there are two." Tenten said rolling her eyes.

"You're expecting twins?" Shikamaru asked surprised as he looked at her with slightly widened eyes.

"Yep. A boy and a girl." Tenten smiled.

Shikamaru smiled and looked up at the sky again.

"That's good." He said lazily.

"By the way, why do you always stare at the clouds?" Tenten asked curiously.

"I don't know, I guess because I'm jealous of their freedom." Shikamaru shrugged nonchalantly while Tenten just sighed at his answer.

After a few more minutes of walking they finally arrived at the Hokage's office. Shikamaru stopped at the closed door and turned to Tenten.

"Does the others know about you being pregnant?" Shikamaru asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No." Tenten said with a heavy sigh.

"Are you ready then?" Shikamaru asked amused.

"Guess so." Tenten shrugged not so amused as Shikamaru was.

Tenten sighed one last time readying herself for a ridiculous reaction while Shikamaru opened the door. The door opened and revealed the rest of the Konoha 12 who made it to the Leaf.

"What took you two so long?" Naruto asked impatiently as all the attention turned to them.

The room grew to an awkward silence as they all looked at Tenten like they have never seen a pregnant woman before.

"I'm pregnant with twins, everything I do is slower than Shikamaru." Tenten said bluntly while Shikamaru just rolled his eyes and walked in the room, finding a spot on the wall to lean on.

Ino gaped at Tenten, not holding anything to drop this time, however somehow she managed to trip over the flat surface when she shifted her weight. Sai's eyes widened at the news, but his attention was redirected to his girlfriend when she fell. He opened his arms and caught her before she could hit the ground, helping her to her feet as she continued to gape at Tenten.

Chouji ceased his munching and looked at Tenten with a frown while his hand was still midair with a chip. Lee who was in the middle of _training_ because he had to _set a good example_ for Chon even though he was not there was doing push-ups while he stood on his hands, but the shock of the news made him slip and fall on his face.

Shino just stood there as emotionless as ever in the corner, his presence already forgotten

Sasuke stood with folded arms behind Naruto's chair unaffected since he already knew she was pregnant, but the twins where a surprise. However Naruto fell backwards in his chair from shock, but luckily a scowling Sasuke was there to stop the falling chair and push it upright with the shocked Hokage inside.

"Moron." Sasuke scoffed with an irritated expression.

"What was that you bastard?" Naruto exclaimed angrily as he shot up from his seat.

"Calm down Naruto." Tenten sighed exaggerated.

"Naruto! Give Tenten your chair!" Ino exclaimed furiously, knocking him away from his chair which made him grunt and staggered away from the chair from the force of the impact.

"Tenten honey, your feet must be killing you." Ino said sweetly while beckoning Tenten to sit in the chair which made Tenten sweat drop.

"They are actually." Tenten replied as she sat in the chair, sighing in relieve.

"How long have you been pregnant?" Ino asked excited as she leaned on the table close to Tenten.

"Uhm 21 weeks." Tenten said awkwardly.

"When did you find out?!" Lee asked following Ino's lead.

"Just before I disappeared. Neji saw it with his Byakugan and told me." Tenten said sadness creeping slightly in her voice as a solemn atmosphere settled over the room as they remembered their deceased friend.

"I'm going to be an aunt!" Ino squealed breaking the solemn atmosphere.

"I'm going to be a uncle!" Lee squealed as he jumped up and down excitedly with Ino.

"Give it a rest you two, you're both way too excited about this." Tenten said bluntly with a sweat drop.

"Anyway let's get serious..." Naruto said seriously as he recovered.

"That's funny coming from you." Sai chuckled.

"Shut up Sai!" Naruto exclaimed with a raised fist.

"Calm down. Who has any details about Sakura's kidnapping?" Shikamaru asked boredly.

"Why is it necessary to have us all informed? Usually in the case of a kidnapping only a few of us is chosen to find the missing. Not all of us." Shino said speaking up, however his statement made Sasuke narrow his visible eye slightly.

"We can't afford Sakura to be held prisoner somewhere. She knows too much of Konoha's internal affairs. She can leak information about Konoha that can put Konoha in danger." Shikamaru said seriously.

"She wouldn't leak information even if they torture her to death." Naruto said as he defended his friend.

"I never said she would. There is many ways to extract information from someone even if they bite their tongue off. The Yamanaka clan's jutsu is a perfect example... And besides, do we really want to leave Sakura to be tortured." Shikamaru said.

"Shikamaru's right." Sai said.

"Now what do we know about the kidnappers?" Naruto asked with crossed arms.

"They pose as travelers, traveling in a group of four with a wagon. They hid Sakura in the wagon so they won't draw any attention to themselves. We don't know their motives or their base of operations." Tenten said her hand resting on her stomach.

Ino's eyes suddenly widened at the information, like she just realized something important.

"What is it Ino?" Shikamaru asked as he noticed her reaction.

"Hinata hasn't returned to the village yet and nobody has seen her right?" Ino asked as a certain grave realization settled in her voice.

"Yes, why?" Shikamaru asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I think I passed by her in the land of spirits. Has a wagon with four travelers arrived in Konoha?" Ino asked urgently.

"No and how can you be uncertain if you passed her?" Naruto asked confused.

"She was the one that was in the traveler's wagon, not merchandise..." Ino said as the realization dawned on her.

"What?" Naruto exclaimed.

"I thought they were only travelers that wanted to irritate the Hyuga clan... It all makes sense now. Travelers that travelled two o'clock in the morning, the _conditio_ n of the cargo and how _she_ was doing, them not wanting to make an enemy out of the Huyga's... Hinata was in that wagon... They kidnapped her and I didn't even realize it..." Ino said as guilt started settling in her voice.

"Hinata was kidnapped?" Naruto asked in a soft furious voice.

"I'm so sorry Naruto. They passed by me and I didn't even do anything." Ino said as she covered her mouth with her hand.

Sai wrapped his arms around her to comfort her. Her guilt was eating her up.

"I'll find those bastards and when I do there will be hell to pay." Naruto said in a low, dark, threatening tone.

However Shikamaru didn't think there could be any more bad news or that anything worse can happen, but he was wrong. Dead wrong...

Just then the office door swung open without warming making all the heads in the room snap to the door while a beaten and bloody figure stumbled in the room.

"Kiba!" Chouji exclaimed surprised.

Kiba was panting heavily and it looked like he was trying his best not to lose consciousness. He looked up as he panted while Ino rushed to his side to help him with her medical jutsu. She wasn't as good as Sakura with medical jutsu, but it was better than nothing.

"What happened Kiba?" Naruto asked with a frown.

That's when Kiba delivered the devastating news...

"Temari is dead." Kiba said solemnly as he lifted his head up to look at Shikamaru.

The room grew to a deathly silence. Shikamaru's whole body went numb when the words left Kiba's mouth. His eyes widened as the colour drained from his face. He couldn't believe it. There was no way she was dead. He refused to accept it. She didn't survive two years with Orochimaru just to die now.

"What?" Shikamaru asked so softly Kiba hardly heard him, his voice cracking slightly.

"He killed her Shikamaru then sold her body of to some bastard kidnapping people from all the great ninja villages." Kiba said in an exhausted angry voice.

Shikamaru became oblivious to his surroundings as the world around him melted away. The sound and voices grew quiet and his mind went blank. He couldn't think of anything or how to react. His mind only repeated three words...

Temari was dead.

Shikamaru long since stopped listening to the people around him except the words that came out of Kiba's mouth next.

"I saw him kill her right in front of me." Kiba said his eyes hardening at the memory while he slightly shuddered.

How bad was her death that it made an experience ninja shudder at the memory?

"How did this happen?" Shikamaru asked forcing his voice to steady, his eyes to focus and his mind to not fall apart.

* * *

 **A/N: Heeyy guys! I'm sooooo sorry for not updating, I was on vacation and super lazy plus I never take my laptop on vacation with me in fear of losing it and I can only update with my laptop. So yeah, sorry about that.**

 **Also if any of you want to make suggestions for the twins names pleeease feel free to comment or message me, I'd love to her them :)** **  
**  
**However** **I kinda feel bad for continuously throwing Temari in horrible situations, but hey I'm the author and besides it's life, shit happens…**

 **Fun fact: The band Shadowclub is from South Arica and they're awesome :D **

**Oh and if any of you has a link to a legit website where I can watch one piece from about episode 558 pleeeeeeeeease let me know:)**


	27. HABITS

_**"Oh so, your wounds they show. I know you have never felt so alone. But hold on, head up, be strong. Oh hold on, hold on until you hear them come." - Angel by the wings, Sia**_

* * *

"Temari is dead." Kiba said solemnly as he lifted his head up to look at Shikamaru.

"What?" Shikamaru asked so softly Kiba hardly heard him, his voice cracking slightly.

"He killed her Shikamaru then sold her body of to some bastard kidnapping people from all the ninja villages." Kiba said in an exhausted angry voice.

"I saw him kill her right in front of me." Kiba said his eyes hardening at the memory while he shuddered slightly.

"How did this happen?" Shikamaru asked forcing his voice to steady, his eyes to focus and his mind to not fall apart.

"Kabuto... Ass hole... Rinnegan..." Kiba said softly as he started losing consciousness and fell to the ground while Sasuke perked up at Rinnegan.

"He even has a foul mouth when he losses consciousness." Ino marveled.

"Wait, Kiba!" Shikamaru exclaimed he needed more information.

He needed to know what happened, he needed to hear she wasn't dead.

"Dammit, the idiot needs to wake up now!" Sasuke said angrily as he walked over to Kiba and smacked his cheek repeatedly.

"Hey! Don't do that, he's injured." Ino exclaimed making Sasuke scoff and stand up.

"Don't just stand there help him." Naruto exclaimed gesturing Ino to do her medical stuff.

"Don't look at me, I'm not Sakura, he needs a hospital." Ino scoffed making Naruto groan.

"Can someone just please take him there then." Naruto said exaggerated as he rubbed his temples.

"I'll take him." Sasuke said as he took Kiba's arm and teleported him to the hospital using his Rinnegan.

"Kiba said something about someone kidnapping people, maybe that person is the man who took Sakura and Hinata." Sai suggested seriously, breaking the silence.

"We'll have to look into that, but first we need to wait for Kiba to wake up. We need more information on what's happening." Naruto said with a scowl.

"Who's going to tell Gaara and Kankurou about Temari?" Naruto asked sadly.

"Not me, last time I gave them bad news I was almost killed." Shikamaru scoffed then walked to the door of the office.

"Fine, I'll do it." Naruto said with a sigh while Shikamaru left the room.

After a while all the Konoha 12 left the room leaving Naruto alone in the room to think things over. However Ino and Lee walked with Tenten because they wanted to know everything about her pregnancy.

Naruto walked over to his chair and sat in it again. He sat in silence in his office for some time before the space before his desk became distorted. Naruto watched the distorted air dancing around until Sasuke appeared in the space that stilled after his appearance.

"What did the doctor say?" Naruto asked.

"He's got multiple bruises and cuts, a few senbon stab wounds to his side and he's got a slow working poison in his blood system." Sasuke answered.

"He got his ass handed to him good." Naruto replied amused which made Sasuke smirk.

"Is the poison lethal?" Naruto asked turning serious again.

"Of course it is, he was stabbed with Kabuto's senbons." Sasuke replied with slight annoyance in his voice.

"Sasuke I need you to watch over the office for a while." Naruto said in a serious tone as he looked Sasuke in his visible eye.

"Where are you going?" Sasuke asked.

"Suna." Naruto replied simply.

"Why are you asking me? Isn't it Shikamaru's job?" Sasuke asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, but I think he needs time to think, so I'm asking you as a friend and because I trust you." Naruto said looking at him seriously.

If Naruto didn't ask Shikamaru to watch the office he would usually have asked Sakura because she was so familiar with Konoha's internal affairs, plus she'd do paperwork while she was at it.

"Alright I'll watch the office, but you should take someone with you to Suna." Sasuke said.

"I can handle myself." Naruto said rolling his eyes.

"I'm not suggesting, I'm telling you Naruto. I know you can handle yourself, but you're the Hokage, you're always targeted. Take someone with you for incase. We still don't know what guy caused all the disappearances, he could be too much for you to handle alone if he confronts you." Sasuke said emotionless.

"Fine." Naruto huffed with a pout, but after a second his pout changed to a amused smirk.

"I didn't know you cared so much Sasuke." Naruto said slyly.

"I don't idiot." Sasuke replied annoyed.

"Why do you always have to be so rude?" Naruto said with a heavy sigh while still glaring at him.

"Just leave already." Sasuke said even more annoyed as he glared at Naruto back.

"Alright, I'm going." Naruto said walking to the door while still glaring at Sasuke.

Naruto walked out the door to the streets of Konoha then made shadow clones to find him a companion, but not any companion, his socially awkward comrade. He was looking for Sai. His clones ran through the streets while he walked calmly towards the village's gates. He was still far from the gates when one of his clones popped out of existence, they found Sai. After that they all disappeared one by one.

"Where are you going?" A voice asked calmly from behind Naruto.

"Suna, somebody ought to tell Gaara." Naruto said after he turned around to face none other than Shikamaru himself.

"Who are you taking with you?" Shikamaru asked leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets.

"Sai." Naruto answered simply.

"Good choice, he'll get you there faster than any of us." Shikamaru said with his usual bored tone, but Naruto noticed that his tone was off.

His bored tone didn't sound like it used to, it changed slightly. Naruto walked closer to Shikamaru so he didn't stand in the way of passing citizens as well as prevent them from overhearing their conversation. However that's when he smelt it...

"Are you smoking again?" Naruto asked crinkling his nose slightly.

He didn't mind the smell of smoke, but he wasn't specifically fond of the smell and he didn't want his office smelling like smoke. However in the past when Shikamaru smoked it didn't really bother Naruto because back then they were both preoccupied with different things so Naruto never had time to get use to the smell.

"Yes." Shikamaru shrugged nonchalantly.

Naruto hid the sadness that wanted to creep in his eyes because he knew Shikamaru would notice it and it was the last thing Shikamaru needed. He didn't need people feeling sorry for him. He needed time to heal and process Temari's death, because after all her death had an impact on him.

"Don't smoke in my office while I'm gone then." Naruto sighed.

"Talking about the office... Who's there now?" Shikamaru asked.

"Sasuke." Naruto answered.

"I'll go relieve him then." Shikamaru said pushing himself of the wall and walked slowly to the office.

"You know you don't have to, he can take care of it." Naruto called after Shikamaru.

"It's my job." Shikamaru said not turning around or stopping to answer.

Naruto watched Shikamaru walk away with eyes filled with concern. He didn't like when his friends where hurting. Naruto only started walking away when Shikamaru was out of sight. He walked silently towards the gates, his mind racing with all the information that was suddenly thrown on him and the fact that the woman he loved was pregnant and missing.

"Naruto, how is it that I'm here before you are, yet you were closer to the gate?" Sai asked with his usual fake smile and cheerfulness.

"I ran into Shikamaru along the way." Naruto said his eyes cast downwards.

"And?" Sai asked beckoning for Naruto to continue.

"He's smoking again." Naruto said his eyes looking up again, concern still lingering in them.

"The loss of someone dear can drive a person back to old habits." Sai said solemnly his fake smile disappearing.

Naruto didn't answer Sai's comment, he didn't know the right words that followed a comment like that.

"However something is bothering me about Temari's death." Sai said his expression gravely serious.

"How come?" Naruto asked surprised.

"Something is not quite right. Why kill the Kazekage's sister and risk his wrath? She has just as much knowledge about Suna's internal affairs as their Kazekage and she's also somewhat familiar with the Leaf's affairs, if someone can somehow get past her amnesia they'd have access to a lot of information concerning both Suna and the Leaf that we'd rather not make public knowledge. Why kill Suna's ambassador when she's more valuable alive than dead?" Sai mused.

"That sounds like something Shikamaru would say." Naruto commented, but he still took what Sai said to mind.

"Are you saying that just because I don't have an IQ of 200 that I'm not smart?" Sai said his fake smile returning.

"That's not what I'm saying, but you could be on to something Sai." Naruto said rolling his eyes at the first part, but grew serious at the second part.

Could someone really have worked with Kabuto and faked her death for some reason... Or was she really dead...

Naruto knew Shikamaru probably thought of the same thing they were thinking right know, but he also knew Shikamaru knew that her being alive was almost zero percent.

"Let's go." Naruto said not moving, hoping Sai would draw a bird.

"Do you want me to draw us a bird?" Sai asked as if reading Naruto's mind.

"Yes please." Naruto replied relieved.

"Oh is the big strong Hokage scared of walking?" Sai asked with a teasing smile.

"It's faster dammit! And you're the one who suggested it!" Naruto exclaimed with a tic mark, but Sai just kept laughing at him.

"Just draw the damn bird." Naruto said irritated, sometimes Sai could really get on Naruto's nerves.

Sai's laughter died down as he started drawing one bird for the both of them. Naruto knew this way he could go further and save more Chakra. Sai finished drawing his bird and both of then climb on. The Bird flapped its black and white wings and with that Sai and Naruto was off to Suna.

 **xXx**

Shikamaru calmly walked towards the Hokage's office, hands stuffed in his pockets. Shikamaru's mind was running a mile a minute ever since he heard of Temari's death. His mind was wild and all over the place and he didn't know how to stop it...

So he reverted to his smoking habit.

It didn't settle his mind, but at least it settled his nerves. Shikamaru didn't really know why he smoked each time the going gets tough cause he strongly disliked the smoke that kept getting in his eyes, but at least it kept his stress at bay. Maybe that was the reason that lured Shikamaru to smoking.

Shikamaru didn't bother knocking on the door he simply opened it and entered the room. Sasuke, who was staring out the windows, turned around as Shikamaru came in.

"Shikamaru, what are you doing here?" Sasuke asked already knowing the answer.

"Doing my job." Shikamaru answered bluntly.

"Is that so?" Sasuke asked without emotion.

"Yes, you can leave whenever you feel like it." Shikamaru said nonchalantly, sitting in the chair.

Sasuke sighed, having nothing to say to Shikamaru, and then walked out the door. Shikamaru sighed and turned the chair, staring out the window. In one week he already lost two people dear to him. His eyes started to fill up with tears as they danced in the pool they created.

However the silence was broken by a knock on the door, pulling Shikamaru out of his thoughts. Shikamaru closed his eyes and sighed. He took a moment to gather himself before he called for whoever was at the door to come in. Shikamaru turned the chair to face the door as it opened to reveal a blond haired woman.

"Oh, hey Ino." Shikamaru said relaxing again, he didn't even realize how tense he was.

"Hi Shikamaru, how are you holding up?" Ino asked with a concerned frown.

"I'm fine." Shikamaru answered crossing his arms while leaning back.

"Come on Shikamaru, we're all sad about her death. She was important to us all." Ino said softly looking down.

"I doubt that, Tenten wasn't very fond of her." Shikamaru said with a sigh as he turned the chair back to the windows.

"Oh yeah, I forgot." Ino said solemnly while looking down.

Shikamaru stayed silent at her answer, he didn't have much to say and he also didn't like dwelling on the topic. He didn't like to be reminded of all the people they've lost in such a little time span. It's ridiculous.

"The village will never be the same without Temari's usual visits." Ino said staring at the back of Shikamaru's head.

The village will also never be the same without Ruth's fast remarks and Neji's sharp eyes, always seeing things nobody wanted him to know.

"You're right. She won't be there to be troublesome every month like all those times before this whole mess started." Shikamaru said as his eyes fogged up again while Ino gaped at him before her eyes furrowed up in worry, however she only saw the back of his chair and head.

It may have sounded cold to Ino, but it was true. However he never said he disliked her being troublesome. It was what made her Temari. He never grew tired of her monthly visits to be troublesome. Shikamaru tilted his head slightly up as a single tear rolled down his cheek.

Ino stood there for a while, not finding the right words to say.

"I have to get back to the flower shop, I'll see you later Shikamaru." Ino said, her concerned frown never leaving her eyebrows.

"Yeah, I'll see you later." Shikamaru said softly, relieved that she was leaving.

He didn't need people to see him broken.

Ino walked out of the office without saying something else, leaving Shikamaru alone in the Hokage's office.

Another tear rolled downed his cheek, he really wanted to smoke right now, but he remembered Naruto telling him not to smoke in his office and he couldn't leave it unattended. Shikamaru grunted as he leaned forward and buried his eyes in his hands.

Shielding his crying eyes from the world.

He sat in silence as his mind ran wild. He ran his hands through his black hair as he was unable to tame his train of thought. More tears ran down his cheeks as the pain settled in his heart. He sobbed quietly in the silence, however after a while the sobs ended and quietness settled over the room again leaving numbness to settle over him.

He felt absolutely empty and numb to all emotions now.

However the silence was once again broken when a sudden knock rang through the room. Shikamaru sat up straight again while giving him a moment to just breathe before he faced the person at the door. The knock rang through the room again while Shikamaru turned the chair to face the door.

He took a deep breath then sighed leaning his chin on his intertwined hands.

"Come in." Shikamaru called in a hard tone.

The doorknob turned before the door swung open calmly as the  
Demon Sergeant of the Analysis Team entered the Hokage's office.

"Mawashi." Shikamaru said as the brown haired man walked to the desk.

"Shikamaru... Where's the Hokage?" Mawashi asked surprised.

"He's on his way to Suna. Is there anything I can help you with?" Shikamaru asked somewhat curious as to what the man wanted.

"Well we found one of the men that attacked Konoha in the forest and we still don't have orders on what to do with him." Mawashi said awkwardness creeping slightly in his voice as he scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes as the words left Mawashi's mouth.

"You're the leader of the interrogation team now, you're supposed to know what to do with him." Shikamaru said his eyes regaining their normal size.

"I know, but the man refuse to talk and we need Ino's assistance." Mawashi said as Shikamaru closed his eyes.

That man could be the one who killed Ruth...

"Who captured him?" Shikamaru asked as he opened his eyes again and stood up.

"Tonbo Tobitake, where are you going?" Mawashi asked as he watched Shikamaru walk to the door.

"To visit the man he captured while you find Ino. She said she was heading for the flower shop" Shikamaru said as he exited the room while Mawashi followed, locking the door behind Mawashi.

"What about the office?" Mawashi asked bewildered.

"I won't be long." Shikamaru said walking away as he took out a cigarette and lit it.

Mawashi watched him for a few seconds before he went to find Ino. Shikamaru took a deep breath of the cigarette then blew the smoke into the air.

"I'll make him sing like a bird." Shikamaru said softly as his face darkened.

 **xXx**

Chon walked around the leaf village with his hands in the pockets of his new black pants. Lee and Iruka had given him a break from training and learning. However he had to admit, he has never been this stiff before in his life.

Chon had exchanges his torn dirty clothes for new clean clothes that Lee had gotten for him. He wore shinobi sandals with white bandages mixed with a little black that came up to his shins with long black pants tugged inside them. He also wore a sleeveless dark maroon shirt and black fingerless gloves as well as a thick large black scarf that was wrapped loosely around his neck and hung down his back until the back of his knees.

Chon refused to wear the green jumpsuit Lee wanted him to wear.

Chon watched all the unfamiliar shops and houses, walking around like he knew exactly where he was. But in reality he just hated to admit that he was completely and utterly lost...

He was walking undisturbed until a girl ran straight into him knocking him down to the floor.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" Chon grumbled annoyed, rubbing his stomach where she hit full force.

"Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going." She said sitting on the floor looking down at her hands as he stood up.

She had black messy hair that came to her shoulder and bright red eyes that seemed dull and sad. She wore black tights that came beneath her knees and standard shinobi sandals with a white dress that looked like it was made of material weaving into each other with a red thorn pattern on it and a Konoha forehead protector tied around her forehead.

"Clearly." Chon grunted, however he felt bad as he looked down at her.

She looked so sad...

"Hey its okay, I'm not mad." He said with a small smile as he extended a hand to her.

She looked up at his hand then took it as he helped her to her feet.

"I'm Chon, what's your name?" Chon asked trying to be friendly to cheer her up.

"The name's Mirai Sarutobi." She said trying to hide her sadness, but Chon could still see it.

"I've never seen you around before, where are you from?" Mirai asked not seeing any headband on him.

"I located here yesterday." Chon shrugged not wanting to tell her his sad past.

"What's wrong? You look sad." Chon asked, not able to keep his curiosity at bay anymore.

Mirai's widened at the question then saddened again.

"It's nothing." Mirai said looking down.

"It's doesn't look like nothing." Chon pushed.

"Drop it new guy." Mirai said snapping slightly at him.

"Alright, alright, but before you storm of can you point me in the direction of Iruka's house?" Chon asked holding his hands up defensively.

"That's quite a distance from here..." Mirai said contemplating something as Chon raised an eyebrow.

"Come on, I'll take you there." Mirai sighed as she started walking in the direction of Iruka's house as Chon followed.

"Why are you heading to Iruka anyway?" Mirai asked leading the way.

"He's teaching me for the Chunnin exams while Lee trains me." Chon answered while Mirai cringed when he mentioned Lee.

"You know Lee?" Chon asked surprised.

"Yeah, everybody knows him. He's one of the Konoha 12." Mirai shrugged nonchalantly.

"The Konoha 12?" Chon asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, they were the strongest of their generation." Mirai explained.

"Who's in the Konoha 12, besides Lee?" Chon asked curiously.

"Shikamaru-sensei, Ino, Chouji. Naruto, he's the current Hokage. Sakura, Sasuke, Tenten. Neji, he died a few months ago. Hinata Kiba, Shino, they were my mom's students. And I guess Sai is part of it too." Mirai explained.

"Doesn't it make them 13?" Chon asked confused.

"Well since Neji is dead I guess Sai is like a replacement or something. It counts." Mirai shrugged.

"Well to be honest Sai is actually Sasuke's replacement because he defected from Konoha, or so I've heard." Mirai continued as she scratched her chin in thought.

"Why did he defect?" Chon asked.

"It's said that his big brother massacred his whole clan, so he defected to get stronger to kill him." Mirai explained.

Chon watched her when she answered... And he thought he had it rough... This Sasuke guy was on a whole new level of misfortune.

"Wait... You're competing in the Chunnin exams?" Mirai asked surprised.

"Guess so." Chon shrugged.

"Who's you're team?" Mirai asked curiously.

"I don't really know... All they said was that the Shikamaru guy's team needed a member. So I was placed there." Chon said scratching the back of his neck while Mirai's eyes widened.

"That'll be my team." She said her eyes saddening again.

 **xXx**

It was past noon as two figures approached the gates of Konoha, one female and one male. Grimness etched on their face. However there was a void, a missing teammate in there tree man squad.

A solemn atmosphere hang around them as the weight of what they were supposed to do dawned on them.

"Remember our mission and behave yourself." The rigid blond female said to her male companion.

"I'll try, but I cannot believe he would do something like that. He was supposed to be our friend." The white haired male said as he looked at the floor, conflict in his eyes. 

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys I'm Super sorry for taking so long to update, but from December I had like a writer's block or something plus I was lazy plus my friend only lives two houses from me so everyday she's like come to my house and she knows I don't have an excuse not to come since she doesn't know about this story's existence.**

 **Anyway I think the beginning is boring, but gets interesting at the end. That's because I got my spark back :P**

 **Fun fact: The song at the top is my new song I play over and over until I finally get bored of it (everyone has one...)**

 **However prepare yourself because this is a double update because I'm nice and it's a new year :)**


	28. ARRESTED

_**"Remember me now, time cannot erase. I can hear your whispers in my mind. I've become what you cannot embrace. Our memory will be my lullaby." - Sing me to sleep, Alan Walker**_

* * *

Shikamaru walked with a hard expression until he was in front of the interrogation quarters. He blew out the last of the smoke in his lungs as he threw the cigarette away in a garbage can. He silently walked into the building and walked through its twists and turns until he found the room that kept the man that attacked Konoha while he was gone.

"Shikamaru." Shimon said surprised as he turned from the windows that looked into the room to see Shikamaru, making the rest of his unit turn around to face Shikamaru.

"What are you doing here?" Shimon asked surprised.

"I'm here to talk to the prisoner." Shikamaru said with a stern voice.

"But-" Shimon said wanting to interject, but Shikamaru interrupted him.

"Just let me in." Shikamaru said slight anger in his voice.

Shimon stared at him wide eyed before he went to open the door.

"Close the door behind me then leave." Shikamaru said narrowing his eyes at him as he nod.

Shikamaru walked into the room with the prisoner, a sickly smirk on his face as he stood face to face with the man.

"Hi my name is Shikamaru, why don't we talk a bit?" Shikamaru said a shadow tendril rising from the floor.

Shimon gulped slightly as he closed the door. The sharp shadow tendril the last thing they saw before the door shut closed.

"Let's go." Shimon said to his unit who was just about to peek through the window.

 **xXx**

Ino hummed a song softly as she walked back to the flower shop. She and Lee has been spending some time with Tenten. Ino was in a good mood coming back from Tenten, she couldn't wait for the twins to be born. They're going to be so cute. Only 19 weeks to go.

Ino's face however saddened, that meant that in 18 weeks Hinata will be giving birth and she's still missing plus with all the stress that she's under now she'll probably go into labor early. Giving them about 16 weeks to find her. Ino just prayed that they'll find her quickly and that Sakura was with her to keep her and the baby safe.

However her mood was solemn after she checked in with shikamaru to see how he was doing. Ino could see that he was heartbroken and it made her sad to see her friend and teammate sad.

It was starting to get late as the sun started to set. Ino walked past Mirai and a boy maybe a year older than her. Mirai was talking away freely while the boy sweat dropped from all her talking. Ino giggled as she noticed that Mirai was too distracted to notice her. Ino squealed in her head, they'd make a cute couple one day...

"Ino." A female voice called making Ino turn around.

"Oh Samui, Omoi. I didn't know you were in town, what brings you two here? Hey, where's Karui?" Ino said with a smile, but her smile quickly turned confused.

"That's none of your business." Omoi replied rudely making Samui glare at him which made him scoff and look away.

"Excuse him, we just want to know where we can Chouji." Samui said respectively to a taken aback Ino.

"Uhm okay. He's probably at the barbecue place or at his house." Ino said with a frown, something was horribly wrong.

"What happened, why do you two look so grim?" Ino asked.

"We have to go." Samui said not answering Ino as she left with Omoi.

Ino watched them with pure confusion as the two walked away. However another voice called to her again, this time a familiar male voice. _Why was she so popular all of a sudden?_ Ino thought with a sigh as she turned around. Already knowing what he wants.

"Mawashi, how can I help?" Ino said politely.

"We need your help." Mawashi said looking stressed.

"You need me to delve in someone's mind?" Ino asked heading to the interrogation quarters with Mawashi next to her.

"Yes, that and Shikamaru." Mawashi said surprising Ino.

"Why would you need help with Shikamaru?" Ino asked confused, a bad feeling settling into her stomach.

"When I left to come find you he left to see the prisoner. I think he's taking matters in his own hands." Mawashi said making Ino fasten her pace as she scowled.

"Who is the prisoner?" Ino asked nearly jogging now.

"He is one of the men that attacked Konoha while the disappearances occurred." Mawashi said making Ino scowl.

It was the time Ruth was killed by one of those men...

"Come on." Ino said sprinting now.

She was worried that Shikamaru was going to kill that son of a bitch. Especially if he was the one who killed little Ruth. However he couldn't kill him just yet, she still needed time with him and besides that wasn't the man Shikamaru was.

But grief can change any man and he was hurting. He wanted someone to hurt as much as him or to just take his anger out on someone.

Ino threw the door open as she reached the interrogation headquarters, only to be met by the interrogation unit herself.

"What are you doing here?" Ino exclaimed.

"Shikamaru ordered us to leave." Shimon answered looking worried.

"Which room?" Ino asked, she knew this place too well for her liking.

"65." Shimon answered.

"Dammit." Ino scowled dashing as quickly as she could to the room.

She dashed through the familiar halls while the interrogation unit waited for her by the lobby. She skidded to a stop in front of the door and opened it, a scream echoing through the halls.

"Shikamaru! Stop it!" Ino yelled at the top of her lungs.

Shikamaru's eyes widened as if he just realized what he's done. Shikamaru was frozen in his spot where he sat smoking in a chair. The man in front of Shikamaru had blood everywhere on him with several round stab wounds. He was already pale from blood loss and was trembling as blood came out his mouth.

He was seconds away from going into cardiac arrest.

"I told the idiot not to bite of his tongue, we could get information out of him even if he couldn't speak." Shikamaru said softly in a daze.

Ino used her telepathy to tell Mawashi to get to their room, this man needed medical attention immediately. Shikamaru hung his head low taking another breath of his cigarette then tilted his head up to blow the smoke out.

Ino's eyes softened as she saw him smoking again. Last time he smoked was when Asuma died. Ino used her telepathy to call Chouji to come to the interrogation quarters as she walked over to Shikamaru. She walked over to him and bent down to his eye level as he continued to smoke silently, his eyes miles away.

"It's okay Shikamaru. Everything is going to be alright." Ino said softly as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Is it really going to be alright? Ruth is dead. Neji is dead. Temari is dead. Tenten is a single mother. Lee's harboring an orphan that's hiding something from us. Sakura is kidnapped and last but not least Hinata is kidnapped and pregnant." Shikamaru said dazed, losing grip on reality.

Mawashi entered the room looking horrified as he saw the man. Ino turned her head and glared at him, urging him to get out with the man. Mawashi swallowed and picked the man up, making his eyes roll to the back of his head then disappeared with him.

"We're going to find Sakura and Hinata. The rest we'll handle as the time comes. Now let's get you home." Ino said softly as she took his cigarette and put it out.

She pulled him to his feet and led him to the exit. They walked in silence, even the lobby silenced as they entered. They all saw how badly the man looked after Shikamaru was done with him, it was terrifying. Ino glared at them all which made them go back to work while she leaded Shikamaru out the building only to be met by Chouji.

"What happened?" Chouji asked as he walked to them.

"That doesn't matter." Ino said however Shikamaru straightened and lifted his head.

"Let's go." Shikamaru said as he stuffed his hands in his pockets then walked away.

"Where are you going?" Ino asked following him with Chouji following as well.

"To my apartment, you coming or not?" Shikamaru asked recovering from his dazed state.

"Yeah, where coming." Ino answered with a sigh.

Shikamaru needed friends to be with him right now.

 **xXx**

"Are we there yet?" Naruto moaned for the hundredth time now on Sai's bird.

"No Naruto, we're not." Sai answered bluntly.

Naruto grabbed his cheeks in agony, he was so bored. Sai at least had something to do. He was sitting peacefully while drawing in his book. What did Naruto have to do? Absolutely nothing and it was driving him mad.

"When are we there?" Naruto moaned again.

"Probably three hours." Sai answered calmly not looking up from his drawing.

However Naruto grabbed his cheeks in agony again. He wouldn't survive three more hours of boredom...

However Sai suddenly looked up from his drawing book with an alerted face as he looked to the front of the bird. Naruto couldn't understand what disturbed Sai from his drawing, but then he sensed it too. Sai and Naruto quickly jumped of the bird before it flew full speed into an invisible wall.

Coloring the wall black with the bird's ink. Naruto and Sai flipped themselves so they'd land on the ground feet first. However they landed hard when the ground met their feet. Sending shock waves through their legs. Luckily they weren't flying higher or they'd probably have broken something...

"What was that?" Naruto asked watching the black ink slide down from the wall.

"An invisible wall." Sai answered as he touched its cold surface.

"What sort of ninjutsu is this?" Naruto asked examining it.

"I don't know." Sai answered staring at where his hand connected with the wall.

"Why would someone put a wall on the border of the land of fire and the land of wind?" Naruto asked as he walked to the left side while he rubbed the surface, looking for a gap or invisible door.

"I'm not sure. Shall we find a way around it?" Sai asked following Naruto.

"Yes, we have to find the wall's end eventually." Naruto shrugged as he starting running with Sai, his hand never leaving the wall.

 **xXx**

Kiba groaned as he opened his eyes slightly, his muscles screamed at him as he tried to move. Every part of his body was in agony.

"Where am I?" Kiba asked groggily as he didn't recognize where he was.

"You're in the hospital." An emotionless voice answered.

Kiba turned his head to the side despite his muscles not agreeing with the action to see his bug loving comrade next to him.

"Shino." Kiba said confused.

"You're supposed to be asleep." Shino asked standing up.

"Where are you going?" Kiba asked.

"To call a nurse." Shino answered.

"Why?" Kiba asked still confused.

"You were badly poisoned. You are only supposed to wake up in two days." Shino explained.

"But Sakura wouldn't make the fault of letting me wake up too early." Kiba said in a hoarse voice.

"Sakura is not here." Shino said his voice softening slightly.

"Where is she then?" Kiba asked something in Shino's face preparing him for the worse.

"She was kidnapped, along with Hinata." Shino said clenching his fists in his pockets.

"What?!" Kiba exclaimed furiously as he sat up, but immediately lay back down with a grunt.

"Calm down Kiba." Shino said.

"Let me talk to Naruto before they make me sleep again Shino." Kiba said with a scowling face.

"Naruto is not here." Shino said bluntly.

"Where the hell is he then?!" Kiba exclaimed exaggerated.

"Suna." Shino answered making Kiba grunt in irritation.

"Then let me talk to Shikamaru." Kiba growled as Shino nodded and left, closing the door behind him.

Kiba sighed then looked at the pure white roof.

"Dammit." He growled.

 **xXx**

Shino walked silently with his hands in his pockets as he searched for Shikamaru. He had some of his bugs search for him in different locations in the village and the hills he liked to sleep on, even the Hokage's office, but he couldn't find him.

However after a few minutes his bugs did indeed find him near the interrogation headquarters, but he was on the move. Shino was slightly curious as to what Shikamaru was doing at the interrogation headquarters because he would usually leave them to do their jobs or send Ino.

So why did he personally go there...

However in the end it didn't matter. What Shikamaru did was his business and he was running the office every time Naruto was gone so he probably had a reason to go there.

Shino walked in the directions his bugs told him to. However before he could reach Shikamaru, Sasuke saw him.

"Shino, aren't you supposed to be watching over Kiba?" Sasuke asked as he walked to Shino who stopped walking and turned to him.

When Sasuke dropped Kiba off at the hospital the nurse told him that one of them had to watch over Kiba to make sure he didn't react negatively to the treatment because they didn't have a nurse to spare for Kiba. Ever since Sakura vanished the hospital was chaos, however Shizune tried to help out in managing the hospital.

"He woke up." Shino replied.

"Isn't he supposed to sleep for three days before waking up?" Sasuke asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, but I think the nurse made an error when she treated Kiba which caused him to wake up early." Shino said explaining his theory.

However Sasuke knew if Sakura where there to treat Kiba an error like that would never have been made.

"Why didn't a nurse put him to sleep again?" Sasuke asked, itching to know what Kiba knew.

"Because I didn't tell them. Kiba wants to talk to Shikamaru first." Shino answered.

"Let's go find Shikamaru then." Sasuke said deciding to tag along.

"I already found him. Just follow me." Shino said as he started walking with Sasuke following him.

 **xXx**

Shikamaru, Ino and Chouji where already halfway to his apartment when they were stopped by a male and a female from the Lightning village.

"Samui, Omoi." Shikamaru said surprised.

"Shikamaru it's nice to see you again." Samui said politely, however something was wrong.

"Where's Karui?" Chouji asked looking at their group with slight disappointment.

Omoi opened his mouth to say something, but Samui snapped her head to him and glared at him, which kept him quiet as he crossed his arms and looked away. Shikamaru narrowed his eyes in suspicion as he saw the gesture.

"I'm assuming you have business with our Hokage. However he's not here at the moment so anything you need to be discussed, you can discuss with me." Shikamaru said, suspicion still etched in his eyes as he stepped forward in front of his friends.

"We're not here for your Hokage. Where here for Chouji Akimichi." Samui said sternly as she looked over at Chouji.

"Huh? Why?" Chouji asked confused.

"We're placing you under arrest." Samui said looking at him without emotion while Chouji looked taken aback and utterly confused.

"What!? Why?" Ino exclaimed angrily.

"For the abduction of Karui." Samui answered.

"That's ridiculous. Where is she? Is she okay?" Chouji asked his voice changing to concern.

"You tell me." Omoi said glaring at Chouji.

"This is ridiculous! You can't do this!" Ino yelled angrily.

"We can and we're going to." Samui replied.

"Shikamaru do something!" Ino exclaimed looking at Shikamaru's grim expression.

"I can't. This is the exact same situation as when Naruto was arrested for the attempted murder of their Raikage." Shikamaru said with a hard expression.

"But Naruto was innocent in the end." Ino said.

"Exactly." Shikamaru replied.

"What's going on here?" Sasuke asked as he and Shino approached the group, sensing the hostility in the air.

"They're arresting Chouji." Ino growled.

"Why?" Sasuke asked surprised.

"They say he abducted Karui." Shikamaru answered his eyes never leaving Samui's, challenging her.

"So she was abducted as well." Sasuke said unemotional.

"What do you mean _as well_?" Omoi asked as he turned his head towards Sasuke.

Samui broke her stare down with Shikamaru to watch Sasuke, his words interesting her.

"Someone is abducting Shinobi. Sakura Haruno and Hinata Hyuga from the leaf were abducted as well." Sasuke answered remembering Kiba's words when he told them of Temari's death.

There was a bastard running around kidnapping people from all the ninja villages...

"That doesn't change anything. We're still taking him in." Samui said, but she did look like she was thinking things through.

"I was there." Shino said deciding to join the conversation.

"You where?" Chouji asked surprised.

"Yes, but I'd be lying if I said I was there the whole time. I was only there when Chouji and Karui walked to the Lightning village. He had no intention of abducting her and I believe someone else abducted her." Shino said in his monotone.

"That only makes him the last one to have seen her." Samui said not wavering from her orders.

"Shino go with them and prove Chouji's innocence. Sasuke investigate Sakura and Hinata's disappearance, I want them found. Ino go attend to our prisoner then delve into his mind after he's fit enough, I want to know what he knows." Shikamaru said giving everyone a job.

"He's not coming with us." Omni said irritated.

"Yes he is." Shikamaru said bluntly.

"You can't do that." Samui said glaring at Shikamaru.

"I can and I'm going to." Shikamaru said with a smirk that got on her nerves.

"Understood, but Shikamaru Kiba woke up and wants to see you." Shino said making Shikamaru raise an eyebrow, but he nodded anyway.

"We'll be taking our leave now, but know this Chouji if you resist us or try to escape we will restrain you." Samui said slightly irritated.

"Harshly." Omoi added.

"Let's go." Samui said taking the lead followed by Chouji then Omoi and Shino behind him.

However Samui and Omoi kept there guard up just in case Chouji tried to escape or Shino tried to aid him in getting away.

Shikamaru watched them walk away before he turned to Ino.

"Let's get going." Shikamaru said knowing Ino would be heading to the hospital as well since the prisoner was there.

However he felt bad for just giving Chouji over to them for something he didn't do, but at least Shino would be there to clear his name because Shikamaru knew that Chouji was not guilty, he just had to prove it.

"I need to talk to Kiba as well so I'll be joining you shikamaru." Sasuke said as Shikamaru nodded and they all walked to the hospital.

The group walked towards the hospital as Shikamaru stuffed his hands in his warm pockets while his sad eyes looked up towards the sky. It was snowing again.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey guys, I really hope you liked the chapters because I really enjoyed writing them.**

 **However when I just finished writing the chapter there was an error and I lost like a thousand words so I had to write it aaaaall over again *sigh*... aaand our wifi isn't working so that aided in me not updating sooner.**

 **Don't forget to leave a comment :P**


	29. THE RINNE SHARINGAN

_**"And I'd give up forever to touch you 'cause I know that you feel me somehow. You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be and I don't want to go home right now." – Iris, Goo Goo Dolls**_

* * *

Pure white snow rained down on the Village Hidden in the Leafs, painting it white. Little children played in the snow, making snowmen, snow angels and waging war with snowball fights. Mothers called their children, scolding them for not wearing a warm jacket to protect them from the cold.

It was the image of tranquility.

However in reality a much sinister work was at play...

Three pairs of footprints embedded themselves in the soft snow as they made their way to the Leaf's Hospital.

Shikamaru, Ino and Sasuke stepped into the warm atmosphere of the hospital, leaving the coldness outside. Warmth flooded to their exposed skin, giving it life again.

"I'll see you guys later." Ino said waving at them as she walked to the reception to ask about the prisoner's whereabouts.

"Follow me." Sasuke said as he walked to the room where he left Kiba.

Shikamaru followed Sasuke as he led him through the halls of the hospital. No nurse or doctor stopped them or even noticed them as they were too preoccupied with their work and patients. Sasuke finally stopped at a door and opened it. He walked into the room with Shikamaru making Kiba turn his head slowly to them.

Kiba watched them come in, he would've smirked but he didn't feel like it was the right moment to smirk.

"How are you feeling?" Shikamaru asked as he stood next to Kiba's bed with Sasuke.

"I've been better." Kiba replied.

"You said something about the Rinnegan... What did you mean?" Sasuke said getting to the point.

"There was a guy we encountered on our way to the leaf, he had tanned skin with sickly white hair that covered his eyes when he lowered his head, but when he lifted his head I saw it..." Kiba said in thought.

"What did you see?" Sasuke questioned.

"The Rinne Sharingan." Kiba answered looking Sasuke dead in the eye.

Sasuke's eyes widened in shock as well as Shikamaru's. They didn't expect that... Memories of the war came back, memories of the Rinne Sharingan...

"What?" Shikamaru asked shocked.

"How is that possible?" Sasuke asked confused.

"I don't know, he appeared right after Kabuto did." Kiba said with a sigh.

"Kabuto? You saw Kabuto?" Shikamaru asked his voice growing cold.

"Yes, that's when everything started going wrong." Kiba said scowling at the memory.

"Did you look into Taiga's eyes?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes." Kiba answered confused.

"He probably used a genjutsu on you." Sasuke replied making Kiba scowled.

"What happened, Kiba?" Shikamaru asked calming himself.

"We were walking back to the Leaf village from the Stone village. We left without a hassle and traveled without any problems, until Kabuto arrived. He wanted Temari out the way but before any fighting could start Taiga appeared~" Kiba said.

"That's the man with the Rinne Sharingan, right?" Shikamaru asked with folded arms.

"Yes, however he wanted Temari alive. In the end the bastards made a deal. Kabuto could kill Temari then Taiga could have her body." Kiba said scowling again.

"Why would they want her dead body?" Sasuke asked.

"I don't know." Kiba answered.

"However Temari thinks he's the one that caused all the shinobi in the Leaf to disappear." Kiba said with a sigh.

"What makes her think that?" Shikamaru asked.

"She seemed to have known him. She said his hair wasn't always white. It changed." Kiba said with a serious face.

The room stayed quiet as the info processed in the men's mind.

"Why would he scatter the Leaf's force?" Sasuke asked.

"I don't know. He didn't mention his motives at all." Kiba answered.

"Is there anything else?" Shikamaru asked with crossed arms, he looked like his eyes where far away in thought.

"No, unfortunately not." Kiba sighed.

Shikamaru nodded then walked to the door, Sasuke following suit.

"Hey!" Kiba called turning his head to Shikamaru.

Shikamaru stopped and turned his head to look at Kiba while Sasuke just left. He was anxious to start looking for Sakura.

"How's Akamaru doing?" Kiba asked a small smile on his face.

"He's doing just fine. He'll be glad to see you again." Shikamaru said trying to smile, but he just couldn't get himself to muster a smile.

"Oh and Shikamaru..." Kiba said his face falling while Shikamaru looked at him.

"I'm sorry." Kiba said looking at the roof again.

Shikamaru looked back to the door again then walked out without a word. He reached the outside of the hospital and watched the last few seconds of the sun disappearing behind the horizon.

 **xXx**

Two days have passed since Naruto and Sai had encountered the giant invisible wall in their way. Naruto looked at the grass as they ran in the forest following the wall until it ended. Naruto's mind strayed to Hinata however. He was worried sick.

A knot of worry formed in his stomach every time he thought about Hinata and their unborn child. He didn't even know if it was a boy or a girl. Naruto knew Hinata could've gotten a sonar by now so they could see their beautiful child.

He wondered if the kid would look like Hinata or himself. He personally hoped that the child would get her beautiful silky hair. He always thought Hinata's long midnight blue hair was beautiful.

If the baby was a girl she would be as gorgeous as Hinata and if it was a boy he'd be as strong as them both.

"Naruto!" Sai exclaimed pulling Naruto out his thoughts, he hardly ever heard Sai raise his voice.

"Huh? What?" Naruto asked confused as he snapped out of his thoughts.

"I've called you about three times already." Sai said stopping.

"Oh sorry about that, I zoned out." Naruto replied, stopping as well while scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"Let's take a break." Sai suggested.

"Okay." Naruto said looking down again as he went to lean against the invisible wall he knew was there.

However this time Naruto fell right through and landed hard on the ground, not expecting there not to be a wall anymore while Sai laughed at him.

"Hey! We found the end!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly as he stood up again.

"Let's go to Suna!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Let's eat first." Sai said sitting down while taking out something to eat, making Naruto's tummy growl.

"Good point." Naruto said sitting next to Sai as he ate as well.

Naruto ate quickly then jumped up again.

"Let's go!" Naruto exclaimed then dashed straight into the invisible wall making Sai laugh at him again as he stood up calmly

"Dammit." Naruto growled while he staggered.

He felt for the ending of the wall while holding his pained nose. Sai stood up and walked calmly passed the wall where it didn't reach making Naruto glare at him as he followed the route Sai took. After both of them passed the border into the land of wind they started dashing to Suna to the deliver the news nobody wanted to deliver.

 **xXx**

Shikamaru sat in the office sighing heavily, finally doing some paperwork in Naruto's absence. Another three days have passed since, making it a week since Sakura and Hinata was declared missing, five days since Naruto left for Suna and Chouji was arrested.

It was a week since the news of Temari's death reached him.

This whole situation aggravated Shikamaru. How did things come to this? At least Kiba was released from the hospital and is okay. Shikamaru stopped writing a report he was working on that he received from a team that went on a C class mission. He looked up and milled the questions that were always on his mind around.

Who was taking the shinobi and why? Was the guy who took Temari's body the same person that scattered the leaf shinobi? Where was the missing shinobi now?

All those questions danced in Shikamaru's mind and he couldn't answer a single one.

He sighed then went back to the report. The mission was done by a group of three shinobi that was just promoted to Chunnin. They were lucky to have missed fighting in the war or ever encountering the Akatsuki...

However as he read the report further something caught his eyes. They reported seeing a woman with auburn hair that possessed the Sharingan with a man with slicked back white hair. Shikamaru frowned as he read it again.

What they reported was impossible, except if Sasuke had a daughter or sister that nobody ever knew about. Who was this girl and how did she have the Sharingan?

Shikamaru got pulled out of his thoughts when there was a knock on the door. He looked at the report one last time before leaning back and calling for the person at the door to enter.

"Hi Shikamaru." Ino said with a small smile as she entered the room.

"Hey Ino." Shikamaru said relaxing slightly as he saw his friend.

But she was no replacement for Chouji.

Ino came closer to him and watched him with a frown making Shikamaru frown as well.

"What?" Shikamaru asked as she watched him.

"You should really get some sleep Shikamaru, the bags under your eyes are getting darker." Ino said backing off again.

Shikamaru sighed, he hadn't had a good night's sleep in days. No matter how hard he tried he just couldn't fall asleep. He always ended up watching the ceiling of his room until about three in the morning when sleep would finally take over his mind.

"What can I help you with Ino?" Shikamaru asked boredly.

"I came to inform you that I think the prisoner is fit enough for me to delve into his mind." Ino said.

"Good, let's pay him a visit them." Shikamaru said as he stood up.

"You're coming along?" Ino asked surprised.

"Yes." Shikamaru shrugged as he walked to the door with Ino.

He locked the door when she exited the room then left with her to the interrogation headquarters.

"Have you moved him there already?" Shikamaru asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, but only for now. He still needs to stay at the hospital." Ino said, her eyes not straying from the snowy path in front of her.

Snow continued to fall ever since the day they heard of their missing friends, Temari's death and Chouji's arrest. It all happened on that one day and the sky hasn't cleared since. It was like it was hurting as much as they were.

They walked in relative silence until they finally reached the interrogation building. Leaving their footprints in the snow as they walked their path. They walked into the building and the twisted halls to the room where they usually delve into people's minds.

He entered the room with Ino, not missing the nervous glances he received from the interrogation unit that was under Ino's command. However even though Ino commanded them Mawashi was still called the leader. Shikamaru honestly thought that it was so that Ino felt better as well as deluding herself that she wasn't involved with the interrogations and tortures, she was simply _helping_ every now and then.

However in reality she was in command of the building. She took her father's role after he died without her even realizing it and after Ibiki retired she took over his role as well, yet she nominated Mawashi for it. Even though she worked in the interrogation unit, she still managed the flower shop with her mom.

"Prepare the machine." Ino said as she walked over to the prisoner who was being placed in the half dome with only his head sticking out while the others went to take their positions.

The prisoner's eyes met Shikamaru's while he leaned on the wall with his hands deep in his pockets. The man's eyes widened in fear as he recognized Shikamaru. He trashed slightly in the half dome, but Ino placed a hand on his head which made him look up at her in confusion.

"Psycho Mind Transmission." Ino said calmly as she closed her eyes and delved into the mind of the man with Mawashi, Shimon and Tonbo.

Shikamaru wanted to smoke as he looked at them, but he knew it might bother Ino so he just kept his hands in his pockets while sighing. He watched the man eyes go far away as his mind was infiltrated. It was similar to what Ino used to help Temari remember except the machine was a different one and she used another jutsu so Temari remembered and not just Ino seeing it.

Hours passed as Ino gathered information from his mind, but finally they were done. Ino opened her eyes in a calm manner with the rest of the unit while the prisoner looked like a zombie.

"We've got all we need, take the prisoner back to the hospital and do not let him escape. We have a nice little cell for him once he's healed." Ino said as she gave her orders.

"Understood." Mawashi said as he took the prisoner and carried him back to the hospital while Tonbo and Shimon left the room.

"And? What did you find out?" Shikamaru asked playing with Asuma's lighter absent mindedly.

"He wasn't the one who killed Ruth, if that's what you're wondering. _But_ I did find out something really interesting." Ino said seriously.

"And what's that?" Shikamaru asked.

"He's an underling for the man that's kidnapping shinobi. He doesn't know all that much about why shinobi from different villages are being kidnapped, but he was tasked to frame the cloud village for Hinata's abduction." Ino reported making Shikamaru frown.

"So their abducting shinobi and framing different villages for that specific shinobi's abduction..." Shikamaru mused.

"Yes." Ino said nodding her head.

"They want all the villages to fight among themselves so the mastermind can take over them all probably." Shikamaru said thinking out loud.

"Who did they take from Suna?" Shikamaru asked curiously, knowing who's missing from the other villages.

"As far as he knows it's Temari..." Ino said slightly confused.

"But she's dead. What would they want from a dead body." Shikamaru said, slight anger in his voice.

It angered them that they used her dead body for their own selfish uses.

"I don't know Shikamaru." Ino sighed.

"Still, it means they have Sakura and Hinata." Shikamaru said as Ino nodded her agreement.

"Where's there base of operation?" Shikamaru asked.

"That's where it get tricky... He never went to any base, he got his orders from a woman with auburn hair and the _Sharingan_ who always found him." Ino said confused.

"Her again? Who is she?" Shikamaru asked himself frustrated.

"You know her?" Ino asked surprised.

"No, she was just mentioned in one of the reports I worked on." Shikamaru said with a sigh.

"So does that mean we don't know where there base is?" Shikamaru asked disappointed.

"I didn't say that... The man wasn't ever at any base, but he knows that there is four basses where they can possibly operate from. There's one in the land of fire, the land of wind, the land of lightning and the land of stone." Ino said counting them on her fingers.

"Do you know where in those lands?" Shikamaru asked.

"Sadly, no." Ino said sighing.

"We'll have teams go to each land to search for the base, but we'll have to wait for Naruto's return." Shikamaru said sighing.

"When is he returning?" Ino asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm expecting him to return today." Shikamaru said.

"In that case you better head back. It's already getting dark." Ino said as she walked to the exit as well, probably returning to her flower shop.

"Guess so." Shikamaru said.

Once they reached outside they both walked their separate ways. Shikamaru sighed once Ino walked away, he was finally able to smoke again.

 **xXx**

Naruto had already told Gaara and Kankurou about Temari's death and was currently sitting on Sai's bird. They handled the news better than they did when Shikamaru had told them that Orochimaru took her, but before he told them about her death he asked them about the invisible wall first.

They knew about its presence, but they had no idea who was responsible or what its purpose is. After that he broke the news to them. The room had grown into a deathly silence as Kankurou stared at him with wide, shocked, paralyzed eyes while Gaara looked down at his desk.

Naruto didn't stay to see how they would handle the news. He left the room quietly to give them time to digest the news and come to terms with it. After that he found Sai and they left for Konoha. He was Hokage and he couldn't stay this long out the village. They flew the detour they mapped out to take so they could avoid the invisible wall. They flew over the border and into the land of fire.

Naruto became bored and laid on his stomach while looking down at the people below that whizzed past them.

"Hey, look at him!" Naruto exclaimed pointing at a man with white slicked back hair.

"What about him?" Sai asked as he watched the man they passed.

"You remember the Akatsuki guy with the scythe?" Naruto asked looking back at Sai.

"Yes." Sai answered.

"That man looks like him." Naruto said.

"He does, doesn't he?" Sai mused.

They reverted back to silence while Sai continued drawing. Naruto fell asleep to make the time pass faster, but as a few hours passed something made Naruto jolt awake.

"Nightmare?" Sai asked.

"I don't know..." Naruto answered confused.

Sai continued speaking, but Naruto wasn't listening at all. Something was bothering him. He couldn't pin point what it was that kept bothering him. That was until he sensed it. His eyes widened as he looked at the forest.

"Hinata." Naruto whispered.

"What?" Sai asked completely confused.

"I sense Hinata's chakra." Naruto said softly as he flipped of the bird while going into his chakra mode.

Naruto flew to the ground, rolling as he landed roughly on the ground then sped off to the direction he sensed Hinata.

"Wait Naruto!" Sai called, but Naruto was already gone.

Sai lost Naruto in seconds, but he couldn't be blamed. Naruto's chakra mode could travel at great speeds. Speeds no normal Shinobi could ever dream of reaching, except the fourth Hokage. Naruto's father...

Sai flew in the direction Naruto took off in hoping to find him again, while the sun was still up.

* * *

 **A/N: I was actually done with this chapter a while back, but then I forgot a part I wanted to ad so I had to do that first, but oh well all worked out.**

 **But what's terrible is that I caught up to fairy tail's episodes now I have to** _ **wait**_ **for new episodes to come out -_- and I can't find for the life of me a website where I can watch Naruto episode 490 and above...**

 **Anyway I think I might have called the cloud village the lightning village in previous chapters and I apologize. It was a continuing blond moment.**

 **And omg... I found my old notes I wrote for this story before I wrote the chapters on my laptop. It's sooo badly written :| but there's some good ideas in them...**

 **Anyway I hope you guys liked the chapter! Don't forget to leave a comment :)**


	30. TEAMS

_**"And you've got your demons, and darling they all look like me." - Sad Beautiful tragic, Taylor Swift.**_

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Shikamaru smoked while he walked back to the office. He looked up at the dark sky and saw that the snow finally stopped. He calmly walked back to the office, throwing his cigarette away before entering the office.

"Shikamaru! Where have you been?! And where is Sasuke?!" Naruto exclaimed throwing his hands in the air making Shikamaru sweat drop while he closed the door.

After Naruto jumped off the bird he ran for hours looking for Hinata. He could sense her chakra, but he couldn't find her for the life if him. However, after fifteen minutes her chakra signature vanished again. He searched for her for hours, but after it started getting dark he had to give up his search for Hinata and return to Konoha.

He would've returned with Sai, but he sort of lost him while he looked for Hinata, but Sai us a capable ninja, he could return to Konoha on his own as well...

"I've been at the interrogation headquarters getting information on the whereabouts of Sakura and Hinata, and Sasuke is out looking for them," Shikamaru said bluntly.

"Oh, you're forgiven," Naruto said calmly again.

"What did you find out?" Naruto asked sitting in his chair.

"They're trying to start a fight between all the villages by framing different villages for certain abductions. For example the prisoner we caught tried to frame Hinata's kidnapping on the cloud village while we were framed for Karui's abduction. However the cloud didn't start a fight, they just took Chouji into their custody." Shikamaru said with a sigh making Naruto spit out the water he was drinking.

"They took Chouji!?" Naruto asked angrily.

"Yes, Shino is there to prove his innocence," Shikamaru answered.

"What else do you know?" Naruto asked leaning back in his chair again.

"There is a possible base in the land of Fire, the land of Wind, the land of Stone and the land of Lightning. We should send teams to each land to search for their base." Shikamaru suggested.

"Good idea, do we know who the mastermind is?" Naruto asked.

"No, but we found out a woman with auburn hair and the Sharingan gives out the orders," Shikamaru answered.

"The Sharingan? That's not possible." Naruto gasped.

"That's not all. Kiba told us that a man named Taiga possess the Rinne Sharingan. He's the one that took Temari's body. However, the prisoner has knowledge that Temari is the person they abducted from Suna so it's possible that Taiga is involved with the kidnappings. Shikamaru exclaimed.

"Shikamaru?" Naruto asked with a solemn expression.

"Yes, Naruto?" Shikamaru asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Do you believe Temari's dead?" Naruto asked looking at Shikamaru's grave expression.

"Yes, why?" Shikamaru asked in a quiet tone.

"Sai and I think there's more to the story," Naruto said looking at Shikamaru.

"I really want to believe she's not dead and that somehow she's still alive somewhere, but I don't have any evidence that can make me believe that. There is only evidence of her being dead Naruto. Maybe there is more to the story, but it won't make her alive." Shikamaru said looking out the window detached.

It was quiet for a long time before Naruto spoke again.

"You mentioned teams going to each of the four lands to search for their base. Who's in what team?" Naruto asked.

"Sasuke, Kiba and I will search in the land of fire. Ino and Shino will search in the land of lightning. Lee and Sai will search in the land of stone." Shikamaru said.

"What about the land of wind?" Naruto asked.

"I'm sure Gaara can aid us in our search and send a team from Suna to search in their homeland. We just need to send a message explaining everything to Gaara, Sasuke and Shino." Shikamaru said.

"Speaking if Suna..." Naruto started, making Shikamaru raise an eyebrow.

"There's an invisible barrier on the border of the land of Fire and the land of Wind. It acts as a wall to prevent people from going into the land of Wind or the land of Fire. However, if you walk far enough, you can walk around it." Naruto said, slight annoyance in his voice when he mentioned the invisible wall.

"Why would someone, put an invisible barrier on the border?" Shikamaru asked confused.

"I don't know, maybe it's to prevent Suna or Konoha from aiding each other," Naruto said with a sigh.

"Does Gaara know of the barrier?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yes, he's aware of its presence," Naruto said.

"Anything else?" Shikamaru asked looking at Naruto, who looked like he was deep in thought.

"I sensed Hinata's chakra on our way back from Suna," Naruto said softly making Shikamaru's eyes widen slightly.

"What?" Shikamaru asked.

If he sensed her in the land of fire, there is a good chance that their base is close to Konoha. But it's still a good idea to search the other lands.

"I sensed her. I was so close. I almost had her. However, after fifteen minutes, she disappeared off the face of the planet again." Naruto said softly, almost a whisper as he scowled.

Shikamaru watched him, it was hard getting so close to something you want only for it to vanish again. What makes it worse is that Hinata is pregnant, he just wants to get her home safely and see his baby.

"Go home and get some sleep Naruto," Shikamaru said his hands in his pockets.

"I just got here," Naruto interjected.

"Just go Naruto. It was a long trip." Shikamaru said with a sigh.

Naruto contemplated what Shikamaru said for a while before he sighed and stood up.

"Fine," Naruto said walking to the door.

And with that, both of them walked to their separated apartments. However not one of them could fall asleep

 **xXx**

The next morning all the Konoha 12 were called into the office, except Sasuke and Shino of course since they were already gone and Tenten who was pregnant.

Sai and Ino were standing together of course while Shikamaru leant on the wall. Lee stood in front near Naruto's desk talking to Kiba about youth. Kiba just stood there looking like he was going to kill himself any minute now while Akamaru laid on the floor next to Kiba.

"We believe a man named Taiga, who possess the Rinne Sharingan, is behind the kidnappings. We also believe that there are four locations to the base of operation where Hinata and Sakura were taken to. However only one of them are in use. Therefore we will be splitting into teams to investigate each land." Naruto started, some whispers and shocked gasps among his friends.

"How's that possible? Sasuke is the last Uchiha." Shino asked.

"He was an experiment of Orochimaru," Kiba answered Shino.

"The teams will be as followed: Kiba, Shikamaru and Sasuke will be searching the land of fire. Ino and Shino will be searching the land of lightning. Lee and Sai will be searching the land of stone. Any questions?" Naruto asked looking at the group.

Ino paled, she was in a two man squad with the silent, bug loving weirdo... Why did Naruto hate her? Why couldn't she go with Sai? Ino asked herself with tears streaming down her face dramatically.

"Are you okay Ino?" Sai asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh yeah," Ino replied still crying comically.

"Who's searching the fourth land?" Kiba asked.

"Suna, since it is in the land of Wind," Naruto answered as Kiba nodded.

"Alright, all of you depart in two days," Naruto said.

They all nodded then left the room one by one, except Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru can you write a letter to Gaara, Sasuke and Shino and explain the situation?" Naruto asked as he started working.

"Yeah," Shikamaru replied nonchalantly.

Shikamaru took three pieces of papers they use to tie to messenger hawks then started writing. When he was done he tied it to hawks then sent them off to find the men they were searching for.

Shikamaru walked back to Naruto's office to tell him what he missed while he was gone and to help him catch up to work until night came and they left for home. However home wasn't the same anymore. Nothing was. There was always a vacancy that couldn't be filled.

Shikamaru smoked on his way home. He unlocked his door then entered his apartment. Laying on his bed staring at the ceiling. All the smiles Temari shot him, the beautiful smiles he'll never see again, those smiles will probably haunt him forever. Following him till the end of the earth.

Ghosts of memories of her came back at night taunting him until sleep finally came to relieve him.

 **xXx**

Chon sat on the roof of his new apartment, which was sadly next to Lee's so he could take care of him. Chon would've searched for a nice little hill for himself if it wasn't for the fact that he would never find anything again. So he opted for his roof.

Chon knew from experience that when Lee wakes up he'd make him do strength training or make him run around and Lee always wakes up at sunrise. This way he avoided Lee and he's crazy antics for a while.

The sun had just separated from the horizon when he sensed somebody behind him. He was good at sensing people, after all, he had to avoid a lot of bad people before he came to the leaf. However it didn't mean he lowered his guard, he was ready to run for his life again at any time.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say that you're stalking me," Chon said with an amused scoff, not looking back at the approaching person.

"Don't be ridiculous." Mirai scoffed sitting next to him on the roof.

"How did you know where I was?" Chon asked looking at her.

"I was walking around the village when I saw you. So I decided to keep you company." Mirai shrugged watching the horizon.

"Why are you up so early?" Chon asked confused.

"Something is going on and I want to know what so I was hoping I'd pick up some information while I walked around," Mirai said with concerned eyes.

"Why do you think something is going on?" Chon asked surprised.

"Haven't you noticed it. All the Konoha 12 looks like their hiding something from anyone who isn't part of them. They're all acting differently." Mirai said looking at the street bellow.

"Now that you mention it... Lee hasn't made me do exercises yet. By this time he usually would've found me and made me train." Chon mused.

"I saw Shika-sensei smoke last night. I've never seen him smoke in my life and when I told my mom she had this shocked expression. After that, she just looked sad and dismissed it." Mirai sighed.

"Maybe you should stay out of it then. If you needed to know one of them would've told you." Chon said seriously making Mirai snap her head at him angrily.

"What do you know," Mirai said glaring at him angrily.

"Probably more than you." Chop said shrugging.

"Excuse me," Mirai said glaring at him.

"I've been raised in the streets as an orphan. I've picked up a few thing before coming here... I also heard stuff that's very interesting." Chon said sighing making Mirai's eyes soften.

"Wait you know what's going on?" Mirai asked shocked.

"No, but I have hunches." Chon scoffed.

"Like what? Tell me what you know." Mirai said.

"Well, the most likely thing that caused the Konoha 12 to act like they do now is probably Taiga..." Chon answered.

"Who's he?" Mirai asked confused.

"Orochimaru used to experiment on him and his sister before they escaped, now he's abducting shinobi from different villages. He probably took one of the Konoha 12." Chon mused.

"What makes you think that?" Mirai asked.

"Lee told me he'd be going on a mission tomorrow and will be gone for awhile. He also started blabbering about friendship and love that should never stay missing." Chon shrugged.

"I wasn't blabbering! I was reaching you a youthful lesson!" A voice exclaimed from behind them, making both Chon and Mirai sweat drop.

"Dammit, he remembered." Chon scowled.

"I almost forgot to give you your morning training," Lee said breathing a sigh of relieving that he remembered about his temporary student.

"Wait! Are you talking about the kidnapping?" Lee asked completely shocked.

"Yeah, I heard about then on the streets," Chon said looking back at Lee.

"So you know about Taiga?" Lee questioned as Chon nodded his head.

"So Taiga is the whole reason this is happening?" Mirai asked looking at Chon.

"No, he's merely an underling. A right-hand man at the most."Chon said rolling his eyes making Lee gape at him.

Mirai saw the look Lee gave Chon and it troubled her.

"Does the Hokage know about this?" Mirai asked Lee who shook his head.

"Come with me, Chon," Lee said to Chon who raised an eyebrow but stood up either way.

Lee turned around and started jumping from roof to roof towards the Hokage's office followed by Chon and Mirai.

"Chon?" Mirai asked solemnly making him look at her.

"Yes?" Chon asked raising an eyebrow.

"What happened to you?" Mirai asked softly.

"What do you mean?" Chon asked with a hard expression, knowing exactly what she meant.

"How did you land on the streets? What happened to your parents?" Mirai asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"That's really none of your business." Chon retorted.

"Why won't you just tell me! We're going to be a team soon so you might as well." Mirai shot back.

"Why are you so persistent?" Chon asked irritated.

"Because we're going to be comrades," Mirai said shooting him a glare.

"So what it's still none of your business," Chon said exaggerated.

"Why won't you tell me, Chon?" Mirai sighed sadly.

"You'd know if your parents were murdered before your eyes," Chon said in a low hard tone, a tone that Lee had heard someone use before.

Lee was listening to every word the youngsters said without them even realising it. Chon had adopted the same tone Sasuke did just before he left with the sound 4 back when they were still genin.

"Maybe your right... I may not even have been born when my dad was murdered, but everyone needs someone to talk to. Nobody can withstand solitude." Mirai said with a soft tone making Chon's eyes widen.

"That's the problem, you never knew your father. You never had that bond." Chon said looking straight ahead of him.

Lee slowed his pace when he heard him. Chon reminded him so much of Sasuke. They even sound the same. Lee's eyes saddened slightly.

"You're a real piece of work," Mirai said angrily speeding up to not be next to him.

"What's wrong Lee?" Chon asked noticing Lee slowing his pace.

Lee snapped out of his haze then sped up again.

"Nothing and would it kill you to call me sensei," Lee said with a defeated sigh making Chon roll his eyes.

"Where here," Mirai said as she stopped at the entrance then pushed the door open as the group entered the building.

They walked silently through the halls. Not having anything to say to each other. Well actually Mirai didn't want to talk to Chon, but she wanted to tag along to see what happens. They continued down the hall until they stopped at a door. Lee walked closer then knocked on the door.

"Come in." Naruto's voice called from within the office.

Lee turned the nob and entered the room with Chon and Mirai while Naruto looked stunned.

"What?" Chon asked confused.

"Lee... You didn't break down my door." Naruto replied looking at Lee making Chon and Mirai sweat drop.

"Do not blame my youth about your door again," Lee said loudly making Naruto sweat drop with the kids.

 _"Anyway,_ what can I help you with?" Naruto asked looking at the group.

"Chon has important knowledge I believe you and Shikamaru would like to hear," Lee explained.

"Concerning what?" Naruto asked raising an eyebrow.

"Concerning Taiga," Lee answered seriously.

"Mirai, do you know where Shikamaru could be?" Naruto asked looking at Mirai seriously.

"Yes," Mirai answered.

"Go get him," Naruto said with a hard tone.

"Yes lord Hokage," Mirai said bowing her head then dashing out the window.

Mirai jumped from roof to roof. She looked at the sun it was still early morning which meant that Shikamaru was still in his apartment, sleeping.

Mirai stopped at Shikamaru's door, knocking on the door hard to wake him.

"Shika-sensei!" Mirai called still knocking on the door.

"Calm down Mirai, I'm coming." A tired voice called from the inside, surprising Mirai.

 _He's awake..._

Mirai waited for the door to open revealing a tired looking Shikamaru that seemed drained. He looked horrible. Deprived of sleep. Like something wad haunting him, keeping sleep away.

"How are you awake this early?" Mirai asked.

Shikamaru looked at his young student. His pleasant dreams had turned to ones that haunted him, that would've been the correct answer. But he wasn't going to tell that to a kid.

"I set an alarm clock." Shikamaru lied, she didn't know his alarm clock was still broken thanks to Temari.

"Whatever. The Hokage wants to see you." Mirai said sighing.

"What's it this time?" Shikamaru sighed.

"Information about the people kidnapping shinobi," Mirai answered making Shikamaru raise an eyebrow.

"How did you know about that?" Shikamaru asked surprised.

"Chon told me," Mirai answered making both Shikamaru's eyebrows raise in surprise.

"How does he know?" Shikamaru asked as Mirai shrugged.

"Words on the street and a lucky guess..." Mirai answered making Shikamaru sigh.

"Let's go," Shikamaru said jumping from roof to roof with Mirai to the Hokage's office.

It didn't take them long before they reached the Hokage's office.

"Sorry Mirai, you can't stay. You have to leave." Shikamaru said as they entered the office.

"But that's not fair!" Miria exclaimed angrily.

"I'll make you a deal," Chon whispered to Mirai.

"What deal?" Mirai whispered harshly back.

"I'll tell you what happens here if you teach me how to use the Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu..." chon whispered.

"Hey! What are you two whispering about?" Shikamaru asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Deal," Mirai answered then turned around for the door.

"I'll leave." Mirai sighed walking out the door making Shikamaru raise his eyebrow again before sighing then shaking his head.

"What do you know Chon?" Shikamaru asked.

"I'm assuming you know Taiga and his sister is abducting people, however, their not the mastermind," Chon said with crossed arms.

"Who's his sister?" Shikamaru asked.

"She never gave her name, but she has auburn hair and blue eyes." Chon shrugged.

"She doesn't happen to have the Sharingan, did she?" Shikamaru asked with a sigh, auburn hair again.

"I didn't see it no," Chon answered as he thought back.

"Nobody keeps the Sharingan activated the whole time, take Sasuke as an example," Naruto said.

"But if it's implanted like Kakashi's it always stays activated," Shikamaru said looking at Naruto.

"What else Chon?" Naruto asked beckoning him to continue.

"Taiga's just a pawn being used. You're either the player or the played... He's the played. However, the sad thing is that he's so blinded by his bitterness towards the world that he doesn't even realise it." Chon sighed shaking his head.

"So who's the leader?" Naruto asked curiously.

"See that the thing... Nobody knows. Not even Taiga's sister. Nobody knows his name or how he looks. Taiga is probably the only person who knows who the leader is." Chon said with a sigh.

"How do you know all this?" Shikamaru asked curiously.

"I met Taiga's sister while she was drunk." Chon shrugged making the men in the room blink.

"So you were at a bar?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yes," Chon replied.

"Why? Aren't you a bit young? Shikamaru asked.

"I was hiding from some people and nobody ever thinks of looking for a kid in a bar." Chon shrugged.

"Good point," Shikamaru said, this kid was smart.

"You know kid, you'd make a good spy..." Naruto mused.

"How youthful!" Lee exclaimed randomly.

* * *

 **A/N: I** **surprisingly** **have nothing to say** **on** **this** **authors** **note...**

 **I hope** **you** **enjoyed** **the chapter and** **please** **leave whatever people leave on and a comment. I love reading comments :)**


	31. THE MISSING

_**"Like sand through the hourglass. It's slipping away right through my hands. I may have lost my chance." - Youth, Madeline Yuno**_

* * *

It was too cold for crickets to chirp outside. The clouds parted slightly, giving way for the sun. The sun peeked over the horizon shining its glorious light over the pure white snow that laid over the village and forest like a blanket.

Even though it stopped snowing, everything was still white. Five pairs of footsteps embedded themselves in the snow as they walked to the designated meeting point. The great gate of Konoha. One by one they all gathered at the gate.

The first who arrived at the gate was Sai. He stood up straight under his white coat with two red stripes looking out into the forest. Second was Lee, he started doing push-ups, his left hand sinking into the cold snow turning it slightly pink while his right hand rested on his back.

Third was Kiba with Akamaru. Joining in the solemn silence he didn't dare break even if he wanted too. He leaned again the gate with one hand in his pocket for warmth while the other stroked Akamaru. He looked down at the snow in thought.

Fourth to arrive was Ino, also not wanting to break the heavy silence as she stood in the space between Sai and Kiba looking back at the village as they waited for the last of them to arrive.

Last but not least was the arrival of Shikamaru. He had his hands in his pockets and walked towards them with a stern expression that seemed to fit the solemn mood that hung in the air. Kiba pushed himself off the wall while Lee stood up again, rubbing some warmth in his cold pink hand.

"Looks like everyone is here." Shikamaru said, the absence of the rest of the Konoha 12 not going unnoticed.

"Before we all scatter in different directions... Just now that the man with the Rinne Sharingan, Taiga, is not the leader. Someone else is running the show." Shikamaru said informing the remainder of his friends that was there at the gate.

"Who's the leader then?" Ino asked.

"Nobody knows." Shikamaru said with a sigh.

"Let's head out." Shikamaru said.

The group nodded then sprang into their designated directions. Sai with lee, Kiba with Shikamaru and ino alone.

Shikamaru jumped from tree to tree with Kiba and Akamaru following him.

"Where are we going?" Kiba asked as he followed Shikamaru.

"To the land of wind." Shikamaru answered.

They followed the path naruto mapped out for them so they could cross the border without the invisible wall blocking them.

"Why the hell are we going there?" Kiba asked confused.

"It's where we're going to meet Sasuke." Shikamaru answered.

"Tell me if you smell Sasuke, Sakura or Hinata." Shikamaru said while Kiba nodded.

The men jumped through the forest in silence, listening for something to give the hideaway's location away. Searching for a clue for its whereabouts. They'd only arrive at the meeting point in three days.

 **xXx**

The land of lightning wasn't like the land of fire. It wasn't covered in a blanket of snow. There was only a biting coldness that hung in the air. Nibbling at any exposed skin.

It was a week since ino left the village for the Cloud village. In all that time she travelled alone, only having the company of clerks she bought food from. It was lonely...

However, she was finally in the cloud village. She thought she'd never make it. She sighed as she entered the village.

"I've been told of your arrival. Welcome." A voice said behind ino making her sigh and shiver slightly.

She hated bugs.

"Hi, Shino." Ino greeted as she turned around to face the bug lover.

"I'll show you to the Inn." Shino said walking with his hands in his pockets.

"Thank you. So have you found anything." Ino asked hopefully.

Shino stayed silent for a moment before he answered.

"No." He replied.

"There is nothing to prove Chouji's innocence, but there is only an eye witness report stating his innocence." Shino said without emotion.

"He's lying, isn't he?" Ino asked with a sigh.

"Without a doubt." Shino answered.

"Luckily I'm good at finding things out." Ino said with a smirk.

"Do you think the Raikage will believe you when you tell him what you saw in the witness's mind?" Shino asked rhetorically.

"How can we make him believe then?" Ino asked defeated.

"Darui is a reasonable man, I'm sure we'll find a way to convince him." Shino said.

"I hope so." Ino said looking at the ground.

Poor Chouji. He's probably worried sick about Karui and there's nothing he can do about it since he's locked away in a jail cell.

"Here's the Inn." Shino said stopping in front of the inn they were going to stay in.

"Thanks." Ino said walking in while Shino stayed outside.

Ino booked herself a room then went to the room to put some of her things she was travelling with down. The room self was a peaceful room, it had wooden floors with white walls and cream coloured curtains.

Ino placed her things on the coffee table then left again, locking the door behind her. She walked out the inn, seeing Shino still standing outside the inn.

"Let's pay Darui a visit, Shino." Ino said with a smirk while Shino nodded.

They walked through the village without talking, Shino wasn't much of a talker... ino approached the Raikage's office door and knocked on it.

"Come in." Darui's voice called from inside.

Ino took the doorknob firmly, turned it, then entered the room. Darui looked up from his work then raised an eyebrow while leaning back. However, he didn't look that surprised about the leaf ninjas appearance...

"You're here for Chouji, aren't you?" Darui said with a sigh.

"Of course." Ino replied.

"How dull... What do you want me to do about it? I can't just leave him be. Sorry." Darui said.

"I want you to do more than a half ass job!" Ino exclaimed angrily.

"Ino." Shino warned.

"Someone saw him Ino." Darui said.

"He's being paid to say that or his an alley of the kidnapper. If you bring him here I'll be able to tell you his lying." Ino said determinedly.

"How do I know you're not lying?" Darui asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Trust. I wouldn't lie about something like this. Karui is my friend as well as Chouji's." Ino said with furrowed eyebrows.

"Alright. I'll bring him in for you. But if I find out you are lying to me Ino, there will be consequences." Darui said sternly.

"That won't happen. Chouji is innocent." Ino said determined, staring Darui in his one visible eye, challenging him.

"Shino, I assume you know where the man lives." Darui said breaking eye contact to look at Shino.

"Yes." Shino replied.

"Will you fetch him for me?" Darui asked.

"Of course." Shino replied nodding his head before he left the office.

"How's Naruto?" Darui asked as Shino left.

"He's been better." Ino answered sadly.

"I heard about his missing girlfriend." Darui said sighing.

"Yes, they tried to frame the cloud village for her kidnapping. Luckily we caught him before we accused you." Ino said making Darui perk up.

"They did the same to Karui, didn't they? How dull." Darui sighed.

"Yes." Ino said looking at him with serious eyes.

"There's more, isn't there?" Darui asked gravely.

"Yes, we have intel that their base of operation _might_ be in the land of lightning. That's why I was sent here. Also Temari no Sabaku of the three sand siblings is reported dead." Ino informed him.

"Dead?" Darui asked surprised.

He didn't expect that...

"What happened?" Darui asked.

"She and Kiba were attacked by Kabuto and another man. Sadly she was killed." Ino said looking down.

"How's Gaara and Kankurou taking it?" Darui asked.

"I don't know, but I can't see them taking it lightly." Ino said sighing.

"And Shikamaru? I remember him being close to Temari?" Darui asked.

"He's not taking it well. He looks like he's barely getting any sleep and top it all of, he started smoking again." Ino sighed, worry creeping on her face.

"Again?" Darui asked surprised.

"He smoked before as well. When our sensei died that is." Ino said sadly.

"Must've been rough." Darui said with a sigh.

"It was." Ino said softly.

A silence hung in the air until they heard muffle screams that slowly came their way.

"What's that?" Ino asked confused as she looked at the door.

As if on cue the door opened and revealed Shino, followed by his thousands of bugs that were in the shape of a human body. Crawling their way into the office, never losing their shape as muffled screams came from them.

"Shino... What is that?" Ino asked taking a gulp as she backed away from the bugs.

"That's the person the Raikage told me to get." Shino replied bluntly as his bugs retreated to his body, revealing a terrified man that scrambled away from him while he still screamed making Darui sweat drop.

"Shino! You were supposed to get him here without traumatising him." Ino exclaimed exaggerated.

The man scurried behind Ino, mistaking her for defending him.

"He wasn't cooperating." Shino stated bluntly again.

"Hey, bastard! Stop hiding behind me. I know what you've done." Ino exclaimed furiously as she glared at him.

The man yelped then scurried behind Darui. The man looked terrified.

"Help me lord Raikage." He said in a scared voice.

"Don't look at me man." Darui shrugged.

"If you didn't have anything to hide you wouldn't be that scared of us." Shino said.

"Hold him." Ino ordered.

"What?" The man asked in a high voice.

Shino's bugs crawled to the man again making Darui lift his legs into a cross position on his chair while Ino shivered. She was totally grossed out. The man screamed again as the bugs cornered him. Damn... that man looked more afraid of the bugs than Ino did...

"Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu." Ino said making a hand seal.

Ino's body went limp has her soul transferred to the other man's body. Shino immediately let his bugs crawl back to him, knowing that when Ino's soup settled in the man's body she'd go crazy over his _creep_ y bugs that were over the man's body she possessed.

Shino caught Ino's shoulders as she fell so her body won't hit the floor hard. He laid her slowly on the floor then stood to his full height with crossed arms while Darui uncrossed his legs and placed them on the floor again.

 _Ino delved into the man's mind. It was easy combing through his memories since his will was weak. Well to be fair no one's will ever felt strong again after her fight with Sakura at the Chunin exams and when Temari kicked ino out her mind, but Minoru could've played a role in that._

 _This man's memory of was pretty much the same as the man they caught in the leaf village. He didn't know where the base was and only received his orders from the woman with auburn hair, however, this time she found a name with her face. Akane..._

 _He was ordered to pin Karui's kidnapping on the leaf. He followed Karui around when the disappearances started without her realising it, watching for the perfect moment to strike and take her._

 _He watched as she went to greet Chouji outside, that was the moment he decided to frame Chouji for her kidnapping. The man loved the fact that someone close to her will be blamed._

 _Chouji stayed a few days in the cloud village, spending time with Karui until finally, he had to leave. Karui walked with him to the rim of the village, watching him as he left._

 _After Chouji was gone. The man took a Senbon coaxed in a muscle relaxant. He pegged Karui squarely in her neck. She grabbed her neck and pulled the Senbon out, throwing it away as she took her sword in her right hand. She spun around, facing her enemy. However, it wasn't even a minute before she started swaying in her spot unsteadily._

 _The relaxant was kicking in._

"Dammit. _"Karui whispered, her eyes dazed._

 _Her consciousness slipped away from her as she fell to the ground. Her sword clattering to the ground next to her. The man walked over to Karui'sunconsciousbodythenslung her over his shoulder._

 _He walked with her slung over his shoulder for a long until he met a man. A white haired man. Taiga..._

 _"Soyou'rethe manI'm supposed to give her to?" The man queried_

 _"That_ correct. _" Taiga answered._

 _Inogasped as she saw the body that laid next to_ Ttaiga _.It was Temari. Ino couldn't take her eyes of Temari, she was laying on the ground in her own puddle of blood. Ino couldn't tell if she was breathing or not. However, if Kiba wasn't there it meant she was already dead. How did things come to this?_

 _"Give her to_ me. _" Taiga said making ino snap out of her daze again._

 _The man listened to himI without hesitation as he walked to Taiga and gave Karui to him. Ino didn't take her eyes of Temari, she waited for her body to move. To prove that she wasn't dead. Butnothingeverhappened..._

 _Taiga put Karui on the floor as well. He knelt and placed one hand on Karui's back and the other on Temari's back. He then his transportation Jutsu, making him warp to an unknown place with Karui and Temari._

 _Ino sighed with sad eyes before she released her Jutsu._

Ino opened her eyes as she sat up, grabbing the attention of Shino and Darui. Shino had dragged a chair in front of Darui's desk and was now sitting in the chair playing a game of cards with Darui, which made Ino's eyebrow twitch slightly.

"Is this really the time to play cards? Don't you have work to do Raikage?" Ino asked exaggerated.

"You were taking long." Shino replied bluntly.

"I had a good hand, how dull." Darui sighed putting his cards down.

"Where's Karui's sword?" Ino asked standing up.

"Omoi's keeping it for her." Darui answered.

"Did your men ever find the Senbon they used on Karui?" Ino asked seriously.

"What Senbon?" Darui asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The Senbon that was coaxed with a laxative, that's what they used to take Karui quietly. She was out before she could even attack." Ino said.

"I'll send someone out to look for it where we found the sword." Darui said.

"You know what that means, don't you?" Ino asked with a smirk, however, Darui didn't answer.

"That Senbon means Chouji is innocent. Chouji is horrible at throwing Senbons, he couldn't have hit Karui because of his lack of skill in throwing Senbon plus he doesn't use laxatives on his weapons. It isn't his battle size, he'd rather crush his enemies unconscious." Ino said staring Darui down.

"I know. Do you know where Karui is?" Darui said his gaze not wavering.

"No, but where searching for the missing as we speak." Ino said.

"Anything I can help with?" Darui asked leaning back in his chair.

"Yes. You can help by sending teams out to help us search for the base and by releasing Chouji." Ino said.

"You've proven your point, I'll release Chouji. Where should I send my teams to look?" Darui asked.

"A team to search the north, East, and south. We'll search in the west." Shino answered.

"Alright, I'll send teams there." Darui said.

"C..." Darui called.

"Yes lord Raikage?" The blond man asked as he stepped into the office.

"Get this man out my office and get Chouji out that cell. This man is the real culprit." Darui said narrowing his eyes at the man on the floor.

"Yes, sir." C said bowing before he slung the man over his shoulder then looked at ino and Shino.

"You two coming?" C asked.

"Of course." Ino said smiling as she followed C with Shino.

They walked through the cloud village with C towards their prisons. It took them awhile, but they finally arrived there.

"Right this way." C said walking through the twisted halls of the prison.

They walked and walked and walked until they stopped in front of a cell.

"Ino... is that you?" A familiar friendly voice asked surprised.

"Yeah, it's me Chouji. Sorry I took so long." Ino smiled.

"Ino! please tell me you have food! This place's food is horrible!" Chouji cried grabbing the bars as there's ran down his face making Ino and C sweat drop.

"He didn't even see me here." Shino said making ino sweat drop even more.

"Let's get you to a restaurant then." Ino said knowing her purse will regret her words.

"Ino... you're an angel." Chouji said tears streaming down his face while c unlocked the prison door.

"Let's go." Ino said, but Chouji was already running to the nearest restaurant without waiting for them.

"Hey! Wait up Chouji!" Ino yelled running after him while Shino shrugged and ran behind them.

C watched them with a sweat drop. He sighed then threw the man in the prison cell Chouji once occupied. He locked the door then walked back to the Raikage's office.

 **xXx**

It's been a week since Shikamaru and Kiba departed from the village. It took them only two days to reach the invisible border, but once they got there they had to find Sasuke. It took them another three days to find the damn guy and once they found him he was on the opposite side of the border for some unknown reason so after another two days they finally got to Sasuke.

However on their journey to find and reunite with Sasuke, Shikamaru really hoped Kiba would pick up a scent of the missing Kunoichi, but sadly he had no luck.

Sasuke, Kiba, and Shikamaru were now walking along the border on Suna's side. Sasuke wanted to inspect the invisible wall so Shikamaru and Kiba inspected it with him, reluctantly. It was day three of their inspection of the wall and still, nothing came up... Until a voice rang across the quiet plain on the other side of the wall...

"Sasuke!" He heard someone familiar call his name in desperation.

Sasuke whipped his head around so fast he may have had whiplash after that. He looked around for the voice he was searching for all this time.

"Sakura!" Sasuke called back as he jogged to the border where the invisible wall prevented any contact from the Land of Wind to the land of fire.

Sakura was covered in dirt. Bruises coloured certain parts on her skin, displaying themselves on her exposed skin. Cuts and scratches ran down her body and some parts of her skin or clothes were covered in dried up blood. She looked terrible...

"Sasuke! Help us! Please save us." Sakura said sobbing as she reached the wall.

She threw herself against the invisible wall, but nothing changed. The wall kept standing. She was in tears from fear as she leaned her head and hands on the border, willing herself to get through.

"Who's us Sakura?" Shikamaru asked as he and Kiba walked closer to the invisible wall.

"...Hinata, Karui and Temari." Sakura continued looking up at Shikamaru who was behind Sasuke.

Shikamaru didn't say a word as his eyes hardened.

"Why is she there if she's dead?" Shikamaru asked softly.

"What? She's not dead. She's alive, she's in the same cell as Karui." Sakura said confused.

Shikamaru's eyes widened in shock as he stared at Sakura. Kiba's eyes widened in shock. How could she be alive when he saw her get killed? Sasuke however scowled, he was right. Kiba was under a Genjutsu.

"That's impossible, I saw Temari die." Kiba said in shock while Shikamaru remained in a daze.

"Is that what Kabuto told you?" Sakura asked with a frown.

"I saw it." Kiba said scowling.

"She's alive. But what they're doing is wrong." Sakura said firmly looking at the ground.

"What are they doing?" Shikamaru asked gritting his teeth as he snapped out his daze.

"They're destroying her mind." Sakura said softly making Shikamaru scowl.

"What do they want Sakura?" Sasuke asked softly.

"I don't know..." Sakura answered shaking her head.

"They just keep probing our minds, looking for something. Searching day in and day out." Sakura said shaking.

Sasuke leaned his forehead where hers was and lifted his left arm to where her hand was. He wanted to hold her, tell her everything's going to be alright, but he just couldn't get through the damn wall and he didn't know what was going on.

"Everything is going to be okay Sakura." Sasuke reassured.

"Is it? The nightmares are worsening... but dammit... Sasuke... the hallucinations... they are the worst." Sakura said bringing her tired eyes to look into Sasuke's dark onyx eyes.

It was the first time he could see how her sparkling green eyes turned dull and lifeless with dark rings that formed underneath her eyes.

"You have enormous strength, can't you just punch your way out?" Kiba asked.

"I can, but it doesn't help me at all. He just keeps telling his henchman to teleport us all back." Sakura said with no hope in her voice.

"We're coming." Sasuke said firmly.

"Hurry, I don't know how long we can keep on going. I'm slowly losing my mind there Sasuke. Temari still has memory loss, but they still keep on digging making her remember too much too fast. She'll go into a coma or cationic state if they continue and if things carry on like this Hinata is going to have a miscarriage or premature labour." Sakura said softly, exhausted.

"Where's there base Sakura?" Sasuke asked.

"The land of fire." She whispered softly, almost like she's busy falling asleep.

"Can you be more specific?" Shikamaru asked, desperate for an answer.

"You'll never believe who's behind this all..." Sakura mused almost sounding amused, almost.

A tear fell down her eye as her edges started to fade. She lifted her head back up at Sasuke making their eyes meet. Her eyes were swallowed by fear. Sasuke's eyes widened slightly as he watched Sakura slowly fade away until she was gone again.

"Sakura!" Sasuke exclaimed as she disappeared completely.

"We now know they're in the land of fire at least." Shikamaru said his eyes seeming far away.

"She said probing, does that mean there's a Yamanaka?" Kiba asked, but he was basically talking to himself.

Both the men's minds were on other things.

"We're going to report this back to Naruto, right?" Kiba asked hopefully, knowing that's not going to happen.

"Let's go Shikamaru." Sasuke said.

"Right." Shikamaru said nodding his head as Sasuke teleported them to the other side of the wall.

"Hey! What about me ass hole!" Kiba exclaimed furiously as Akamaru barked.

"Report to Naruto." Shikamaru called back as he and Sasuke walked away.

"It'd be faster if Sasuke teleported me as well dammit!" Kiba exclaimed.

"Just teleport him Sasuke." Shikamaru sighed.

Sasuke sighed then teleported Kiba and Akamaru to the other side of the wall.

"Thank you." Kiba said exaggerated as Sasuke ignored him.

"Ass hole." Kiba muttered ass he stomped away with Akamaru.

* * *

 **A/N: Omg... I waited** **soooo** **long to post that last part. It was in my draft like forever** **.** **I'm** **so proud of my patience.** **However, that** **wasn't** **the only thing in my draft that was already** **finished. The next chapter is** **finished** **as well. Sooooo DOUBLE UPDATE!** **Yay!** **However** **I** **actually planned this last part to** **be** **in the** **next** **chapter, but then** **I** **decided** **against** **it.**


	32. THREE MONTHS AGO

_**"She's underwater again. Somebody's daughter, a friend. In the night, in the dark, in the cold. As she walks far away." - Bird, Billie Marten**_

* * *

Three months has passed since the kidnapping of Sakura, Hinata, Temari and Karui. There has been several other shinobi that was reported missing and some even blamed Konoha until thy explained the situation. However, from all the villages, only Konoha had two missing shinobi.

Shikamaru and Sasuke never stopped searching for the missing, they also didn't stop at the village for more than a few days. Kiba, on the other hand, went back to tell Naruto news and followed his orders.

All the Konoha 12 were called back to search the land of fire. However, worry ate at Naruto and Shikamaru could see it. Dark circles formed under his worried blue eyes. Naruto now grew serious and Shikamaru hadn't seen him doing anything goofy in three months. He also couldn't concentrate on work at all.

But what happened three months ago when they were kidnapped. These events are what happened three months ago when the kidnappings accord...

 **xXx**

Sakura walked calmly through the dry desert. It was extremely cold since it was night time in the desert. Sakura shook a little from the cold, but never allowed herself to stop. At a temperature this cold she knew she'd freeze to death if she fell asleep.

That's why she kept walking even if it was past midnight. Sakura sighed and rubbed her bare arms while she walked over the sandy dunes. She'll never wake up again if she fell asleep now.

However, Sakura allowed herself a moment of rest when she heard flashes of lightning behind her. She turned around and looked behind her as she watched the intimidating flashes rain down on the earth below. Her face softened as she watched the lightning.

It reminded her of Sasuke...

Sakura's eyes widened. There were no clouds to generate the lightning. Maybe it was him. Maybe it was Sasuke that was the cause of the lightning. Could it really be that easy to have found him so fast? To be only a few kilometers away from him after just a day.

Sakura took a step to the lightning, but stop. Someone was behind her. However, before she could spin around something blunt hit the back of her head. Sakura grunted at the impact and fell to the ground. Her eyelids closed slowly as her consciousness slipped away.

"Sasuke." Sakura said softly on the sandy ground as her eyelids closed completely.

 **xXx**

The night sky was crisp and cold as she walked through the forest and each time the wind blew, the coldness nipped at her exposed skin. Hinata rubbed her arms as she continued walking, she had seen Ino with her Byakugan earlier and was heading there right now.

She had heard earlier rumbling from lightning in the far distance, yet she never saw a cloud in the sky. However it had made Ino stop which she was grateful for, but as time passed something ominous approached.

"Why are you hiding? You know I can see you." Hinata said, raising her voice so they could hear her.

There were 3 men and one woman hiding in the bushes before her. In front of Hinata in the middle of the road was an abandoned wagon.

The woman chuckled and revealed herself as she placed herself in front of Hinata, blocking her path while the men blocked the path behind her. The woman had long auburn hair in a ponytail that hung to her back with beautiful blue eyes that reminded Hinata of Naruto's eyes.

"What do you want?" Hinata asked her face darkening.

"Nothing important really." The woman shrugged nonchalantly, but there was a viciousness to her smirk.

"Then why are you blocking my path?" Hinata said her hand protectively on her big stomach.

She wished Naruto was here, but he wasn't so she'd have to protect this baby on her own.

"Now, now Byakugan princess, we won't hurt that baby of yours. That is if you come quietly with us." The woman shrugged, not stating her full intentions she had with Hinata and her unborn baby.

"And what if I don't come willingly?" Hinata asked her voice hardening.

"I guess then that baby of yours will be caught in the middle of a battle and honey... You're on the losing side." The woman grinned viciously.

"Why do you want me?" Hinata asked.

"We just need a little information from you." The woman said shrugging again, yet again hiding her intentions she had for the baby.

Hinata knew interrogation was always in the same sentence as getting information and she wasn't going to put herself through that while pregnant. She was really in a lose-lose situation.

Hinata scowled and took a fighting stance. She will not give herself up to enemy hands.

"That wasn't wise Byakugan princess." The woman smiled wickedly as Hinata activated her Byakugan.

The woman scoffed and with that as she started moving in blinding speeds while the men stayed stationary. Hinata could barely follow her movements as she ran circles around Hinata. The woman took her first strike then kept striking at Hinata.

However before she could take another hit at Hinata, she started spinning, forming a baby blue circle. The woman scowled knowing that she couldn't stop as she rammed straight into the circle which sent her flying back.

However, she was quicker to recover than Hinata. She stopped spinning just as the woman sliced her side with kunai. Hinata yelped from the pain and clutched her said as blood started oozing from it. The woman pointed at her stomach next.

"Stop it! Please!" Hinata cried out desperately as the woman drew a little blood with the kunai's sharp point.

"Shall you come willingly now?" She asked wickedly pressing harder with the kunai.

"Yes! Please, just stop." Hinata said in barely a whisper.

"Good." The woman replied driving the blunt end of the kunai into her skull, knocking her unconscious.

"Load her in." The woman called nonchalantly as she walked to the wagon while one of the men picked her up from the ground and carried her to the wagon.

 **xXx**

Kiba and Temari walked peacefully back to the leaf village, mountains of stone and ground surrounding them as it stretched as far as the eye can see. Heat rained down on them as they walked. Temari knew that they were near Suna's border, the heat was proof of that.

Because after all, no land could rival the heat of the land of wind.

"If you want to get back to Suna you have to go now since we're close to the border." Kiba said breaking the silence.

"I know that, but I have to escort you." Temari said smirking.

"I don't need an escort." Kiba scoffed.

"Who's gonna keep you out of prison again?" Temari laughed, rubbing salt in his wounds.

"I told you already, I can't help that I woke up in the middle of a crowded place in their village." Kiba exclaimed with a tic mark.

"If you say so." Temari laughed amused.

She'd go to Suna right after she went to Konoha. Her reason was stupid, but hey it's not like she's busy or something. Temari is pretty sure her brother won't be sending her on missions soon.

Kiba and Temari have been travelling without a problem, well that was up until now. The one person Temari expected to never run into again has just appeared before her, blocking her path.

Temari froze as her eyes widened while Kiba stopped next to her seeing the same man as her, but he was less affected by his appearance than Temari.

"My, what a surprise. I didn't expect to see you here, Temari." Kabuto said in a voice that made Temari sick.

"Kabuto... What do you want?" Temari said recovering.

She took her fan of her back and pegged it into the ground next to her as she stayed guarded and ready to attack or defend anytime. Temari knew a confrontation with Kabuto will always lead to a fight.

"Who said I wanted anything, maybe I'm just passing by." Kabuto shrugged nonchalantly.

"Don't bull shit us! You always want something." Kiba said growling as he took a fighting stance as well.

"Well I wasn't planning on taking something, but now that you so graciously appear before me... Maybe I will be taking something. You just gave me an opportunity and I'm an opportunist." Kabuto said pushing his glasses up with a wicked smile.

"I'm not returning to the hideout." Temari said glaring.

"No need for that, I just want you out the picture." Kabuto said glaring at her as he took out Senbons.

Temari took a defensive stance as she opened her fan in front of her while she glared at Kabuto. Kiba however only took out a kunai to defend himself, but before any fighting could happen another person appeared.

"I can't let you do that." A man said as he walked out from the shadows.

He walked until they all made the form of a triangle. The man had sickly white hair that covered his eyes when he lowered his head, he also had tanned skin. However, Temari felt like she had seen him somewhere before but she couldn't pinpoint where or when.

"Who the hell are you?" Kiba growled at the appearance of the stranger.

"I am no one." He replied devoid of emotion.

"Well that's not true, is it Taiga? You're my little genie pig that escaped from me." Kabuto said smugly.

Temari was surprised at that, nobody ever escaped Kabuto. However, that little piece of information did jog her memory. She remembered him and his unnatural ability now.

"You're the one who caused everyone in the leaf to disappear, aren't you? That's why you're hair is white and not auburn." Temari said glaring at him.

He must've used the teleportation Jutsu too much when he made the people in the leaf disappear which caused his hair to discolour.

"You ruined my war attempt, you know that?" Kabuto said irritated.

"You were in my way." Taiga replied bluntly.

"Wait, you know him?" Kiba asked surprised.

"She does." He looked up revealing his eyes.

Eyes with three circles and the Sharingan in the middle. Eyes that contained the Rinne Sharingan.

"What is this?" Kiba gasped in surprised.

"Do you remember the day you first saw me?" Taiga asked tilting his head while Kabuto just watched the exchange with amusement.

"Yes." Temari said slight regret in her voice.

"I was half dead on an experimentation table with Kabuto leaning over me. You watched him blind me and restoring my sight over and over again. However, you just sat in that chair watching him blind me. I was blind for two years before they could finally recreate Sasuke's eyes in the hollow sockets where mine once where. You could've saved me anytime you liked, why didn't you?" Taiga asked, bitterness settling in his voice.

"How could I, that was the only thing I knew at the time. Besides it's better you didn't see how horrible and unnatural the people in the prison looked. You would've had nightmares fire days. But I'm sorry anyway." Temari answered.

"Say Taiga, you don't happen to know where you're sister is right now. You took her with you before we could do the same to her as we did with you." Kabuto said interrupting Taiga and Temari's interaction.

"You already did your damage and I'll never give her location to you." Taiga spat at him.

"What a shame... but if you ask me, I made her eyes better." Kabuto shrugged.

"So is this guy also trying to kill you or what?" Kiba asked confused.

"I certainly am." Kabuto interrupted.

"No, I need her alive." Taiga said.

"Damn Temari, when did you get this popular?" Kiba asked rhetorically.

"Beats the crap out of me." Temari sighed.

Kiba looked back at Taiga and suddenly fainted. He fell to his knees and stiffened, his eyes wide in shock and fear, like he was petrified.

"Genjutsu." Temari scowled as she rushed to Kiba to disrupt his chakra to break the Genjutsu.

However just as she reached to touch him Senbons flew straight at her hand, making her retract her arm. Temari spun her head towards Kabuto, but took a second to glance at Kiba. He was still uninjured and under the Genjutsu.

"I wouldn't do that." Kabuto said also wanting Kiba out the picture.

"Let's make a deal Kabuto. I take her now and then I can deliver her to you once I'm done, I'll also give you ten people to experiment on." Taiga suggested while Temari looked at them with disgust.

"It's better than nothing since I know you won't be giving your twin to me." Kabuto shrugged.

"Like hell that's happening!" Temari exclaimed outraged.

"Your friend there is currently witnessing your tragic and brutal demise. He will be under that Genjutsu for three days before he'll be woken up. I'm sure Kabuto would give him the necessary injuries to make him truly believe that he was part of the fight that caused your death." Taiga said as Kabuto nodded his willingness while Temari scowled.

The cards were stacked against her. Kabuto was strong and Taiga had the Rinne Sharingan... She was absolutely screwed, but she wasn't going down without a fight. Temari stepped back and drew her fan to swing it forward with tremendous strength.

"Wind release: Great task of the dragon." Temari exclaimed as a current of air sped to Taiga and Kabuto just to spiral upwards before hitting them.

"You missed." Taiga said bluntly.

"No she didn't, look up." Kabuto said as they watch clouds form in the sky.

Temari took this time to close her fan and dash to them. When they looked down again it was too late, she was already upon them. She drove the point of her fan into Taiga's stomach making him stagger back. Next, she drove it into Kabuto's stomach making him stagger back as well.

Temari extended a snake arm to Kabuto, knowing that Taiga would only dodge it. Temari took a bet that Kabuto wouldn't counter it with his own snake arm. But her bet was wrong. Kabuto had indeed grabbed her snake arm with one of his own.

He pulled his snake arm back, pulling Temari with it while his other arm turned to a snake sword. A poisonous one at that. Temari scowled as she was being dragged quickly to a lethal sword. Luckily she had her fan in her left hand and it was made from a strong metal, she quickly placed it in front of her to deflect it. However, Kabuto smirked when her fan clashed with his sword.

Temari scowled as she felt herself being pulled away from Kabuto and towards Taiga thanks to his Jutsu. His Jutsu pulled Temari, making her skid towards Taiga as she tried to stop, however, she quickly swung her fan sending a razor sharp wind at Kabuto.

"Wind release: Wind cutter technique." Temari exclaimed then immediately extended a snake arm that grabbed a tree branch.

Temari's feet started lifting as Taiga pulled her towards him with gravity. She quickly glanced at the sky seeing the clouds turn dark and angry, it was almost ready. Kabuto rolled his eyes and took three Senbons and pegged it three vital points in her arm that made them go numb, she could already feel the poison running in her blood.

"Don't poison her. I want her alive like the rest." Taiga said angrily.

"She'll bleed it out." Kabuto said chuckling.

"No, no, no" Temari whispered as chakra stopped going to her arm and it went back to normal and hang numbly at her side.

Taiga kicked the fan out her hands when she was close enough then he pushed her away like a rag doll with gravity.

"Knock her unconscious Kabuto." Taiga said sternly.

Kabuto smirked viciously while Temari scowled. Kabuto summoned another snake sword intending to stab her. Just as Temari reached a close distance she knew she couldn't do anything since her left arm had gone completely numb and couldn't be used.

She also couldn't use her curse mark since it was on her left shoulder which was also void of chakra thanks to the poison. Temari was also not that developed In using her curse mark that she could only use one wing.

Temari braced herself as she flew solidly into the snake sword. She gasped as it went straight through the center of her stomach. Temari coughed blood out as her eyes widened from the pain. She knew that the poison Kabuto liked was extremely excruciating as well as a slow killer. If she were to survive her only chance was bleeding herself out.

"Kabuto!" Taiga exclaimed.

"What? I gave her a wound which she could bleed out from now." Kabuto said amused.

He pulled the sword out of Temari making her gasp and clutch at her wound. However, she could already feel the poison taking effect as stars begun to dance over her vision. Her knees gave way beneath her making her fall to the ground, a puddle of blood already forming on the ground.

Temari scowled as it begun to rain, it was just too late. Her tornado would only wreck havoc once she was long gone...

"Kabuto, you'll take care of Kiba, won't you?" Taiga asked walking over to Temari who laid limply on the ground, eyes barely open.

Kabuto threw a few Senbons in his side while slicing him up with his scalpel.

"Who's going to take care of her?" Kabuto asked curiously as he knew his poisons wasn't easy curable.

"Sakura Haruno, we already have her prisoner and she wouldn't hesitate to help Temari." Taiga replied.

"What?" Temari gasped softly.

"That's right Temari... We have Sakura Haruno, Hinata Hyuga, and Karui already prisoner." Taiga said as he bent down to face her.

Temari tried to scowl, but her body didn't respond anymore. The bastard had Sakura and Hinata, however, she didn't know who Karui was...

"What are you planning?" Kabuto asked glaring at him curiously as he finished slicing Kiba.

"Wouldn't you love to know." Taiga said placing a hand on Temari's back to teleport her with him.

"Dammit." Temari said softly as her consciousness slipped away from her and blackness consumed her. 

* * *

**A/N:** **Temari's Back!**

 **I watched this other anime film and it was sooo sad and cute. You all should watch it! Sometimes it's confusing, but it's really good. Its name is Your Name (Kimi no Na Wa). However Hotarubi no Mori e is still my favourite.**

 **I also finished watching Noragami which is kind of sad because it was awesome and now I have to wait for episodes to come out like Fairy Tail *tear***

 **It amazes me how** **much** **unnecessary crap** **I** **can** **talk** **in an A/N...**


	33. PHANTOMS OF DAYS PAST

_**"They say that things just cannot grow beneath the winter snow, or so I have been told. This is my winter song. December never felt so wrong, cause you're not where you belong; inside my arms." - Winter Song, Sara Bareilles.  
**_

* * *

Summer green leafs mixed with pink Sakura petals as they floated in the air current, dancing around in the sky. Temari gaped at the beauty of it all as she stood mesmerised in the middle of an empty pathway.

She looked around, taking in the breathtaking scene, but soon enough she wasn't looking at the petals anymore. The wonder Temari had in here eyes when she looked around faded away and was replaced with sadness. There where no one here. Nobody to talk to. Nobody to laugh with. Nobody to tell her everything was going to be alright.

She was utterly alone in a beautiful dream.

She was stuck in this vast lonely world where nobody ever appeared, leaving her completely alone and yearning for company. Temari kept track about how long she's been a prisoner. But lately, it's been hard keeping track. She knew that three months has already passed. However, after the middle of the third month, her mind started losing grip on reality.

Sakura told her when she was still awake and conscious of the world around her that the people keeping them captive where letting her regain her memories too fast for her mind to process everything, which will lead to her going into a catatonic state or a coma. That was what was happening now.

Recently she had been jumping from reality in her little cell with Karui to the parallel world with the sakura blossoms.

She didn't know how long she were in the empty space before she snapped back to reality, it was impossible to keep track since the days in this world never turned to night. The sun always remained in the same place in the middle of the blue sky. However last time she was in the blossom filled world sakura told her she was in a catatonic state for two weeks. Temari scowled as she remembered sakura telling her that each time she went into a catatonic state it lasted longer than the previous one.

Temari wondered for how long she was in a catatonic state this time or how long it'll be until she snapped back to the real world. However, at least she had regained a ton of her memories back. She remembered up until the great shinobi war now.

Give it another session and she'll probably remember everything...

Temari walked over to the lonely bench in the path and sat down. Slouching on the bench as she tilted her head upwards, looking at the blue sky that peeked through all the leafs and blossoms. How long will it be until somebody found them? Saved them?

Sakura was slowly losing her mind in this place, going on a rampage every now and then thanks to her delusions and poor Hinata just had to try her best and dodge sakura when she goes mad. Sakura used to break the walls to try and escape, but now she punched them because of hallucinations leaving Hinata to try and evade her punches and the flying bricks.

Temari was lucky, though. She shared a cell with Karui. From what Temari saw when she wasn't in a catatonic state was that Karui was mostly quiet and just sat with crossed arms in the corner, but Temari didn't miss her trembling every now and then.

And Hinata, oh Hinata... She's well on her way to premature labour. She has severe stomach cramps every now and then that Temari knew wasn't normal or healthy. Luckily Sakura was there to keep it at bay...

Temari sighed as she watched the branches sway in the soft breeze. How long was she in this world now? Will she wake up again?

Temari's mind thought to when sakura _escaped_ three months ago. She said she found Kiba, Sasuke and Shikamaru when she ran loose. They all thought she was dead, but it didn't surprise Temari much since Taiga said Kiba would only remember her death.

However, it saddened her that they were all still locked up and heading to their demise.

How long was it since she last time she saw Shikamaru. She wished he was with her in this fake world. She wanted him so badly to be here. Hell, she would've been contempt with anyone here with her, even someone as annoying as Lee.

However, she still wanted Shikamaru to be there with her. She wanted him to hold her. To make her feel safe. To tell her everything is alright.

She wondered where he was now? Did the sky she was looking at look the same as the one he was looking at?

Temari was so sick of being in this phantom of days that passed. Days that blended into one long excruciating long day without an end or a beginning. She longed for the day Shikamaru would find her and take her home.

 **xXx**

Sakura sat on the cold floor looking at Temari. She was sitting in the prison cell next to her, not moving in the slightest. Temari sat on the ground with her legs tugged next to her while her arms just sort of hung limply at her side. Her hair has long since come loose from her four hair ties and was hanging loosely around her face which was slightly tilted as it rested against the wall. Her eyes were open and disresponsive. Not registering anything she saw. Sakura looked into Temari's eyes that looked right through her.

Karui sat in front of Temari and waved her hand in front of her face.

"This is the creepiest thing ever... I'll never get used to this." Karui said as she lowered her hand and sighed when Temari didn't respond at all.

"How long has she been like this now?" Hinata asked in a soft tired voice as she sat against the wall for support while her arms rested on her big stomach.

"About half a month." Sakura said looking at the floor.

"Isn't there something you can do sakura?" Karui asked turning her head to Sakura.

"No." Sakura replied gravely.

"Do you think she can hear us?" Karui asked curiously.

"I don't know, nobody really knows." Sakura said with a sigh as she watched Temari.

"When do you think Temari will stay in a catatonic state?" Hinata asked watching Temari.

"Soon." Sakura answered softly.

"What makes you say that?" Karui asked curiously.

"When did you meet Temari?" Sakura asked Karui.

"Right before the war." Karui answered, not understanding the relevance of the question.

"She's been friendlier to us, meaning she remembers our friendship. Plus she knows who you meaning she remembers everything up until somewhere after you met... She's close to remembering everything." Sakura answered.

"Oh. I see." Karui said averting her eyes to the dark hall that passed by the prison cells.

They fell into silence as different thoughts ran through their minds, as time blended into nothingness. Seconds became minutes, minutes became hours and hours became weeks. Time ticked too slowly for sakura's liking. She hated going to sleep because her dreams always tormented her, but she was always tired.

Sakura constantly used her chakra to take care of Hinata's baby so she wasn't at risk of having a miscarriage and to prevent Temari from going into a coma. However, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't keep Temari from going into a catatonic state.

Her mind was under too much stress.

Sakura looked back at the floor again pondering whether someone was really doing any trouble in searching for them. She did all that trouble in escaping and finding Sasuke to ask him to find her, but it's been three months and she hasn't heard anything from him at all.

Her faith and morale were slowly fading as the nightmares and hallucinations slowly took over. They showed her the truth. The truth where they were stuck in a cell with no one to save them.

"Are you alright sakura?" Hinata asked in a worried voice.

Sakura looked up at Hinata and gave her a sweet fake smile that rivalled Sai's smiles.

"Yes, of course." Sakura lied not wanting to worry or stress Hinata out any further.

 **xXx**

Three months has passed since the kidnapping of Sakura, Hinata, Temari and Karui. Kiba always averted his eyes when Shikamaru was near because he was the one that told him that Temari was dead, but in reality, she was alive.

There had been several other shinobi that was reported missing when Shikamaru went to the allied shinobi meeting, a meeting he wasn't at often these days. But Naruto forced him to stop his search and go to the meeting. However, some even blamed Konoha for some of the kidnappings until Shikamaru explained the situation. However, from all the villages, only Konoha had two missing shinobi.

It was probably because Hinata had the Byakugan and they wanted it, but there were plenty other Hyugas so why take Hinata who was pregnant?

Shikamaru sat in his chair with his hands in his pockets staring at the vacant seat Temari used to sit in. He couldn't concentrate on this meeting at all. However Kankurou was sent in the place of Temari, but he pulled a chair to another spot. Leaving her spot open.

Suna had been informed about Temari being alive and all the other information they found out. That's why when the meeting was done Kankurou would head to Konoha. He was to aid in the search for the mission Shinobi. For Temari. Shikamaru was in charge to escorts him, but to be honest... He had better things to do.

Kankurou would just have to go to Konoha alone. However, when the meeting was done and Shikamaru resumed his search, he found someone. But not the person he wanted to find.

He found Sasuke again, much to his irritation.

"If I didn't know better I'll say you're stalking me." Sasuke said with a raised eyebrow, irritating Shikamaru.

"Don't flatter yourself. Let's go." Shikamaru said irritated as he jumped off again, followed by Sasuke.

Shikamaru and Sasuke never stopped searching for the missing, they also didn't stop at the village for more than a few days. Kiba, on the other hand, went back to tell Naruto the news and followed his orders.

All the Konoha 12 were called back to search the land of fire. However, worry ate at Naruto and Shikamaru could see it. Dark circles formed under his worried blue eyes. Naruto grew serious and Shikamaru hasn't seen him do anything goofy in three months. Naruto also couldn't concentrate on his work at all.

At least Shikamaru knew he wasn't the only one...

Days passed as Shikamaru jumped through the trees, searching for the woman he loves. The sky above them was dark and gloomy. They were heavy clouds that couldn't hold back the raindrops anymore. Raindrops leaked from the sky above, rushing to the ground below. The leafs danced as every raindrop pushed passed them towards the earth.

It no longer snowed, but rained. It was the sort of rain that lasted for weeks. The rain that seemed to grief with the people on the ground. Light gleamed through the open spaces between the leafs, but it wasn't the same as sunlight that would usually stream through it. This light didn't help lighten the dark forest beneath the leaves.

It felt like they've searched every inch of the fire nation, but still, they couldn't find any trace of Temari, Sakura, Hinata or Karui. They were gone without a trace. However in the beginning when Shikamaru searched the fire nation he did find something...

Something that made him uneasy.

"I've been wondering..." Sasuke said out of the blue.

Breaking the heavy silence that hung between them.

"What?" Shikamaru asked not looking back at where Sasuke was.

"You gave Temari a necklace you can track if I'm not mistaken. If she's wearing that why are you having such a hard time finding her?" Sasuke asked.

That was a good question, but the answer is what was bothering him...

"I tried finding her that why, but something's not right. Each time I tried something kept interfering, meaning that there were two locations that pulled my shadow." Shikamaru said still looking in front of him.

"How is that possible if Temari is the only one with one of those metal you use?" Sasuke asked looking at Shikamaru's back.

"She's not the only one who has it." Shikamaru answered his face darkening slightly which surprised Sasuke slightly.

"I implanted one into Hidan a few years back just to be on the safe side. However, he's buried under the ground so it's not supposed to influence my shadow at all." Shikamaru explained.

"Then why is it interfering with your jutsu now?" Sasuke asked confused.

"The only explanation is that Hidan somehow managed to escaped, but each time I've checked on him when it happened he would always still be in his hole in the ground. However, after that happened my shadow couldn't find the metal anymore. It's like it just disappeared." Shikamaru said with a frown.

"That's strange... So you can't find her location anymore?" Sasuke asked.

"No. We'll just have to find them the hard way." Shikamaru said with a sigh.

"Somethings not right, though..." Sasuke said running next to Shikamaru now.

"I know. I just don't know what yet." Shikamaru said uneasily.

They travelled yet again in silence. Searching day in and day out for another week before the two men found themselves before the great gate of Konoha. Shikamaru sighed and walked into the village with his hands in his pockets while Sasuke's gloomy presence walked next to him.

"Find who you were looking for?" A young voice asked as Shikamaru and Sasuke entered the village.

"Not yet." Shikamaru answered knowing who the voice belonged too.

Chon leant against the gate with crossed arms while Shikamaru kept looking in front of him as Sasuke eyed the boy.

"Has Iruka passed you yet?" Shikamaru asked, finally looking at Chon.

"Yeah." Chon asked watching Shikamaru.

"Something else you'd like to say?" Shikamaru asked as he started walking towards Naruto's office, seeing there was still something Chon wanted to say.

"You've been slacking of Shikamaru-sensei. The Chunnin exams are in summer and winter is nearly done, yet you haven't trained us once." Chon said following Shikamaru.

"I always make sure there is someone to train you, don't I?" Shikamaru said with a sigh.

"Yes, but you're our team leader. Plus Lee is killing me." Chon whined still following Shikamaru.

"Yes and look how much you progressed in Taijutsu... Besides I can't right now Chon, there are a few things I have to take care of first." Shikamaru said.

Chon wanted to open his mouth, but he was cut short when Sasuke interrupted him.

"Where busy kid. You can prepare on your own for now or do you really have that little confidence in your skills?" Sasuke said looking at the annoying child who glared at him.

"Chon I'll train you when I come back." Shikamaru said with a heavy sigh.

"But what if they, she, finds me before then..." Chon said in barely a whisper as he watched the ground with anxious eyes.

"What did you say?" Shikamaru asked, he couldn't hear what Chon said.

"Nothing... You're hardly here in the village anymore, who did he take Shikamaru-sensei?" Chon asked curiously, changing the subject.

However, his question made Shikamaru stop dead in his tracks.

"He? Do you know something else, Chon?" Shikamaru asked turning back to Chon.

"I already told you everything I knew." Chon shrugged.

"We have to go Chon." Shikamaru said as he turned and walked to Naruto's office again.

"Fine, whatever." Chon said rolling his eyes as he walked the opposite way with his hands in his pockets.

Shikamaru and Sasuke continued walking to their designated destination. Walking in silence until they arrived at the Hokage's office. Shikamaru knocked on the door to warn Naruto he's about to enter before he opened the door and walked in with Sasuke.

"Shikamaru! Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed as they entered making Shikamaru raise an eyebrow questioningly.

"We've got a hit!" Naruto said standing up with regained hope in his eyes.

Shikamaru's eyes widened. Was this a trick or was there really hope of finding Temari. Did they really find a lead about their whereabouts?

"What did you find?" Shikamaru asked, anxious about the answer.

He wanted to find Temari so badly and now he may finally have a chance of finding her once more.

"Kiba's got Sakura's sent!" Naruto exclaimed happily making Sasuke perk up at Sakura's name.

Shikamaru smiled slightly. They were going to find them... They were finally going to find them...

He'll finally be able to see Temari again.

"Where's Kiba now?" Sasuke asked impatiently.

"I sent him to find Shikamaru... So he'll probably be here in a minute or two." Naruto shrugged.

"We leave immediately when Kiba arrives." Sasuke said in a matter of fact tone while Shikamaru had no objections.

"As far as I'm concerned I'm still the Hokage and I decide when you leave." Naruto said sternly making Shikamaru raise an eyebrow.

"So you want us to leave later, which makes us find Hinata later than we would've if we left immediately?" Shikamaru said in a mock disappointed voice.

"You leave immediately." Naruto said sternly.

"I thought so." Shikamaru said smugly.

"There you are Shikamaru! I ran around the whole damn village just to find you where I started my search." Kiba exclaimed irritable as he burst through the office door.

"Calm down Kiba." Shikamaru said with a sigh.

"Alright, Kiba is here now let's go." Sasuke said impatiently as he turned around and started walking.

"Wait! I want you to take Ino along." Naruto said knowing she knew medical Jutsus and can help Temari due to her clan Jutsu.

Kiba reported that Sakura said Temari where regaining her memories too fast and her mind was suffering because of that plus they may be injured that's why it was wise to take Ino.

"We don't have time to wait for her. She'll have to catch up to us." Sasuke said as he walked out the office, followed by Shikamaru making Naruto sigh and sit down in exaggeration.

"Let's go Kiba." Shikamaru said as he realised Kiba still stood on the same spot.

Kiba sighed and looked at Naruto who nodded making Kiba finally follow the two men.

The group of three walked towards the edge of the village so they could start their hunt for the missing.

"Follow me." Kiba said as he broke the silence and walked abruptly in another direction.

"Where are you going?" Shikamaru asked as he followed Kiba.

"We're taking a short cut. I found Sakura's scent in the east so it doesn't make sense by going out the gate which looks north. So let's cut through the village and go east from the beginning." Kiba said as he jumped to the roofs followed by Sasuke and Shikamaru of course.

Shikamaru's eyes hardened as he stared at the tree line.

 _Hold on Temari, we're coming..._

* * *

 **A/N: I'm** **_finally_ ****done with this chapter! Thank goodness! However I'm super sorry for taking so long to update, I have a major writer's block and couldn't think of anything to write in this chapter.**

 **I must say I'm not particularly happy with this chapter, I feel it's uneventful and could've been written better... but oh well it's better than nothing...**

 **Oh** **,** **and does anyone watch Yona of the dawn?**


	34. THE CAVALRY

_**"I've loved you all along. And I miss you. Been far away for far too long.**_ _**I keep dreaming you'll be with me.**_ _**And you'll never go" - Far Away, Nickelback**_

* * *

"We're almost there." Kiba said as he jumped from one slick tree branch to another while Sasuke and Shikamaru lagged behind him.

They've been travelling for two days now in the pouring rain. Ever since they left the clouds darkened and the rain poured down, never ceasing. Flashes of lightning lighted the sky every now and then in the afternoon sky. If the clouds didn't darken in front of the sun, they could've seen the slow descent of the sun by now.

It was late in the afternoon before Kiba stopped at a clearing.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked as he and Shikamaru stopped next to Kiba.

"I lost her scent." Kiba said as he sniffed the air, trying to find Sakura's scent again while Shikamaru scowled.

"The rain screws everything up and washes it away." Kiba said irritated as he sniffed the air while walking forward.

"Where are you going?" Shikamaru asked walking after Kiba.

"The scent was heading this way before I lost it." Kiba said as they walked again.

The men walked in silence as they searched the forest. This went on until nightfall. Kiba never found Sakura's scent again.

"Should we camp here?" Kiba asked breaking the silence between the three men as they stopped walking.

The sun has long since disappeared while darkness slowly consumed the earth, making everything look ominous in the dark. The rain still continued to fall on the earth while the clouds blocked the moon. Their only source of light in a dark forest.

"No, we're so close." Shikamaru said with a scowl.

He didn't know if it was a gut feeling telling him she was close or just desperation to find her. Either way, they should've been close by now, shouldn't they?

"How do you know?" Kiba asked looking at him.

However, Shikamaru didn't have an answer to that question because in all honesty, he didn't know. Silence hung in the air as Shikamaru looked down at the grass. They hung low due to the heaviness of the raindrops that still clung to them.

However, all the rain drops fell off the grass as the ground started shaking heavily. The men crouched in order to keep their balance as the ground beneath them shook violently, slightly cracking beneath them.

"What was that?" Shikamaru asked confused as he looked around.

"An earthquake?" Kiba asked, doubt in his voice.

"It's not an earthquake..." Sasuke said softly as he lifted his head towards the starless sky watching his breath fog.

"That was Sakura." Sasuke said louder this time while his eyebrows furrowed together.

Sasuke sighed as he watched the rain come down, falling on his face with a relaxing tempo. However, it still doesn't make him feel at ease. The only thing that can make him at ease again is seeing Sakura safe in Konoha again.

 **xXx**

Pink blossoms fluttered through the air, however, something wasn't right. The blossoms were moving in an unnatural and static manner. Looking like a broken tv on reverse. The blossoms were no longer moving from their place of origin to the ground...

No, they were moving from the ground back up to the branches from which they fell from.

Temari sat on the bench with dull eyes as she watched the phenomenon. However, suddenly the blossoms just stopped. Temari's eyes snapped out their daze as she slowly stood up and watched the frozen blossoms with a confused frown.

She took a step to take a closer inspection of the blossom that was stuck in mid air. She reached for slowly, carefully. But as soon as her finger made contact with the blossom everything fell into blackness. Black oblivion consumed the beautiful scene that was once mesmerising to her. However, that breathtaking blossoms where now sickening to her.  
Temari stood in the blackness, not moving an inch. The blackness was almost suffocating to her until she heard a voice call her name. An extremely familiar voice. A warm voice that made her feel safe. A voice belonging to the man she loved.

"Shikamaru..." Temari gasped as her eyes closed then opened again.

Her eyes adjusting to her new surroundings. A surrounding that wasn't filled with horrible blossoms. But not a pleasant surrounding either, but a different one none the less.

"Welcome back to the land of the living." Karui smirked in the prison cell Temari shared with her.

"It's good to be back." Temari said smirking back.

Shikamaru still playing in her mind.

"Temari. I'm so glad you're awake." Hinata said relieved.

Temari turned her head towards Hinata. She was drenched in sweat and looked like she was in a lot of pain. Hinata was sitting in the corner holding her stomach, but she never said anything about the pain that was written on her face.

"Are you okay Hinata?" Temari asked as worry etched on her face.

"Yes, I'm fine." Hinata said faking a smile.

Temari looked over at Sakura for confirmation, but Sakura didn't react to anything or even acknowledge the fact that Hinata was in pain or Temari were out of her cationic state. Her eyes were dazed over as she stood in front of the bars looking at the dark outstretched halfway.

Temari looked at Karui who only sighed. Knowing what Temari was about to ask.

"Sakura's been liked that the whole day, she hasn't even said one thing today. She's about to go into one of her episodes..." Karui said with another sigh.

"Brace yourself Hinata..." Temari said bitterly as she gritted her teeth while Hinata nodded.

Temari stood up from the floor with Karui as they stood in fighting positions, readying themselves to block and dodge the debris that was sure to fly their way as well as to Hinata. Temari used her ability to manipulate the wind to stop the debris from hitting Hinata while Karui blocked it from hitting them.

They already had a system in place...

They waited for five tense minutes and that's when Sakura's delusions started. Sakura's eyes were far away with a hint of fear and anger in them as she let loose a roar and punched the ground. The ground trembled beneath them making it break beneath them.

Hinata whimpered as she stood up and jumped from the ground that disappeared beneath her to solid ground, avoiding the cracks and holes that Sakura created. Sakura turned her rage toward Hinata, blind to what was going on around her. Hinata grunted as she waited for the last moment to dodge Sakura's punch.

Sakura's fist connected with the solid wall at the back of the cell. However the wall only cracked, but it did cause the roof to cave in.

"Hinata, get close to me!" Temari exclaimed as she jumped into the front right corner of her prison cell.

Hinata jumped to the front left corner of her cell and crouched in front of Temari. Sakura destroyed the solid rock that fell towards her and Hinata while Temari clapped her hands together, sending a powerful wind to push all the rocks away from them. Karui dodged and kicked rocks away defending herself and Temari. The rocks piled on the right side of Sakura and Hinata's prison cell while gaps formed beneath Temari's cell from Sakura's first attack.

"Karui! You can fit underneath the bars. Go find your sword and my fan so we can cut open the bars to get Hinata out and get out of here. I'm sick of this place." Temari ordered.

Karui nodded and squeezed beneath the bars and destroyed the floor. Temari knew there was no way Hinata could fit through due to her large stomach.  
"Hurry Karui." Temari said gritting her teeth.

 **xXx**

"Did you see that?" Sasuke asked looking at the rock of the mountain that cracked next to him.

"Yeah, it cracked on its own..." Shikamaru said softly as he ran his fingers over the deep cracks.

"It could've been your looks that did it Sasuke." Kiba said snickering making Sasuke glare at him.

"Not the time Kiba..." Shikamaru said still focusing on the cracks.

Shikamaru, Sasuke and Kiba was currently standing on a mountain. They would've just walked past it, but in the end, they decided to search it since they haven't searched it before and Sakura, Temari, Hinata and Karui could be anywhere. They were just about to leave until the rock formation next to them cracked on its own.

"Do you think this is the place Sasuke?" Shikamaru asked, wanting a second opinion.

"Could be, let's see if we can find an entrance." Sasuke said as they walked away from the cracked rocks.

They searched for about half an hour before they grew impatient. There was definitely activity inside the mountain. They kept hearing rumbling inside the mountain followed by trembles that definitely could belong to Sakura.

"Where's the damn entrance?!" Shikamaru asked frustrated as they long since started running on the mountain.

Sasuke stopped abruptly and covered himself in his Susanoo. Once the aura surrounded him he punched a hole in the mountain with his Susanoo. Just like Shikamaru thought, the mountain was hollow. Sasuke took out a few of the enemy ninja that was running around in the mountain when he punched a hole through the rock.

"I found an entrance Shikamaru." Sasuke said as he let his Susanoo fade, not giving a shit about the people he knocked unconscious while Kiba sweat dropped.

Shikamaru walked closer to the _entrance_ as he inspected the inside. It sounded like there were a thousand ants crawling inside the mountain.

"We're going to need a whole cavalry." Shikamaru scowled looking at the long dark hall, trying to imagine how many enemies there can be in such a big cave.

"We are the cavalry." Sasuke said as he started walking into the cave making Shikamaru sweat drop.

"Don't be hasty now, Sasuke." A smug voice said behind him.

"Your one to talk, naruto." Sasuke smirked turning back to look at his old friend.

Shikamaru looked back to see Naruto. Naruto stood in front of the group that consisted of Ino, Chouji, Sai and Shino. Sai stood slightly on the right behind Naruto with a smiling Ino next to him while Chouji stood next to her munching chips. Shino on the other hand kinda stood on his own behind the group with his hands in his pockets.

"Naruto what are you doing here?" Shikamaru asked confused.

"You don't think I'd honestly stay behind when I could possibly find my pregnant girlfriend." Naruto said with a smirk while his hands rested on his hips.

Shikamaru's next question was how did he find them, but he already knew the answer. Shino's bugs could easily have tracked them plus Naruto could use his chakra form to locate their chakra.

"Fine, let's go explore." Shikamaru said with a smirk

A crash sound pulled them back to reality making them hastily enter the cave. They walked in silence as they infiltrated the dark cave, always staying alerted. Naruto walked in the front followed by Kiba and Shino then Chouji. Ino and Shikamaru walked behind Chouji and behind them was Sai while Sasuke lagged in the back.

Shikamaru was relieved that the mountain cave had lights because if it didn't he couldn't use his shadow which would put him in a big disadvantage...

"Naruto, you can sense Hinata's exact location by sensing for her chakra, right?" Shikamaru asked as he looked at Naruto who was in front of the group.

"Yes." Naruto answered going into his chakra mode.

Cloaking himself in his orange chakra that radiated power.

"This way." Naruto said as he turned right into another hallway.

"Hurry! We need to contain the prisoners!" A Shinobi yelled behind them.

The group stopped walking and spun around. Now Sasuke was in front. The group of enemy shinobi stopped as well and glared at the leaf ninja.

"Who are you?!" The shinobi in the front of the little army exclaimed.

"Where's the prison breach?" Sasuke asked coldly, staring the leader of the pack down.

"Why the hell would we tell you. Now, who are you?" The man spat out like the words were venom.

"Your worst nightmare." Sasuke said in a threatening tone that sent shivers down the man's spine.

"Here we go." Naruto said softly as he rolled his eyes.

"Sasuke, we're going ahead. I trust you can handle all of them." Naruto said as he turned around.

"Of course." Sasuke said with a smirk as he disappeared, making the little army gasp in fear.

Naruto and the rest of the group started running further into the mountain not turning back once as they heard the pained and terrified screams of the enemy shinobi behind them. The group continued down the halls following Naruto's gut as they twisted through the halls. However, suddenly Naruto just stopped, causing Kiba to run into his back. Kiba grunted as he stumbled back while Naruto stumbled forward.

"Watch it, man!" Kiba growled holding his sore nose while Naruto held the back of his head.

"Sorry..." He said sheepishly.

"What's wrong? Why did you stop?" Shikamaru asked walking to Naruto.

"I lost track of Hinata. There's too much chakra here." Naruto said with a scowl.

"Dammit." Shikamaru scowled.

"Kiba can you find any scent?" Shikamaru asked turning to Kiba.

"I'm pretty familiar with their scents so if I pick one of their scents up I can find them." Kiba said focused.

"Alright, let's keep moving." Shikamaru said as the group started jogging.

Not sure where the hell they were going.

They continued to jog down the halls until they ran straight into someone. The group jumped back as they took up a fighting stance while the stranger did the same.

However, it wasn't a stranger...

"Sasuke! Where the hell did you come from?" Naruto asked as the group relaxed.

"Yeah, you nearly gave me a heart attack." Ino said putting a hand over her heart to emphasise her point.

"I don't really know... I got lost..." Sasuke said in the most serious tone ever, not portraying any emotion at all.

Ino looked away trying to hold in her giggles while Kiba snorted slightly as he too was trying to hold in his laughter and stay serious. Shino didn't display any emotion while Chouji chuckled and started munching chips, but only barely, he was too worried to munch on chips. Sai smiled at the situation and Shikamaru facepalmed and shook his head. Naruto burst out laughing making him grab his stomach.

"The almighty... Sasuke... got lost!" Naruto said between laughs making Sasuke glare at him.

"At least I have common sense, idiot." Sasuke growled back causing Naruto's laughter to cease.

"What was that?" Naruto asked glaring daggers at Sasuke.

"You heard me." Sasuke said glaring back.

"Shut up! Both of you." Shikamaru exclaimed as he interrupted Naruto's next insult, glaring at them.

They were wasting his time...

"Both of you have better things to worry about, now stop being childish." Shikamaru said in a low tone, not breaking eye contact even once.

The group fell into uncomfortable silence as the men stared each other down. Not one of them moving a muscle. The other men in the group tensed while Ino's eyebrows furrowed together in worry, but she didn't dare say a word. Chouji's mouth drew into a thin line as he placed his chips back in his ninja pouch.

"Shikamaru's right, we're wasting time. Let's go." Naruto said breaking the tense silence.

Naruto turned away from Sasuke and Shikamaru and walked down the dark, cold hall as the grouped followed behind him with Sasuke at the back again. However, their walking turned to jogging as the sound of a fight grew louder and the only people that could cause the fight was the prisoners. Temari...

The group stopped as they reached somewhat of a big round room with ten other tunnels that merged into the room. Shikamaru scowled as he looked at the tunnels one by one.

"Great, now what?" Kiba asked throwing his arms in the air in exaggeration.

"We'll have to split up." Shikamaru said seriously.

"Are you sure that's the best course of action?" Naruto asked with a sigh.

"Naruto's right. Splitting up could be dangerous, we don't know their military power." Sai said seriously.

"We don't have another choice. We need to find them as quickly as possible." Shikamaru said with a sigh.

"So you could see Temari faster?" Kiba scoffed with a raised eyebrow.

"No, to get Hinata out of here as soon as possible. She's pregnant after all or did you forget Kiba?" Shikamaru said his eyes narrowing at Kiba who looked taken aback.

Naruto scowled and looked at the floor at Shikamaru's statement while Ino's eyes filled with worry. However, they were dragged out their thoughts when another small army entered the room. Shikamaru snapped his head to the front of the room where Shinobi was piling out the ten tunnels. He lowered into a fighting stance and prepared for war as he saw his comrades do the same in the corner of his eyes.

Naruto cloaked himself in orange chakra while Sasuke summoned his Susanoo. Sai grabbed a scroll and paint brush while he crouched down. Bugs crawled out from Shino's sleeves and swirled around in the air around him, which creeped Ino out. Ino and Kiba only went into their own fighting stances and prepared their Justus, while Ino scooted away from Shino as well. Chouji used his clan Jutsu and enlarged both his arms while Shikamaru grabbed his chakra knives and activated them with his chakra. Making the knives come alive with his shadows.

On the opposite side, a man with long white hair and the Rinne Sharingan stood with crossed arms while a woman with auburn hair and beautiful blues eyes stood with her hands on her hips and a smug smile as her blue eyes turned to a blood red Sharingan, shocking Sasuke. However, Ino suddenly gasped out the blue.

"What is it?" Shikamaru asked with a hint of confusion.

"The two blonds, they're Yamanaka's." Ino said gaping at the two blond men that stood to the right of the Sharingan duo.

"Let me guess... They're supposed to be dead." Shikamaru deadpanned.

"Yeah." She nodded with a frown.

"Ino, how does your clan members always come back from the dead and end up on the opposing side? First Minoru and now these two..." Shikamaru said with a sweat drop.

"Don't you dare blame me Shikamaru!" Ino exclaimed furiously.

"Shikamaru! So glad you could make it!" A voice rang through the air making Shikamaru freeze.

He knew that voice... He knew it all too well.

The sources of the voice were yet to make his appearance, but as the crowd made way the man appeared before Shikamaru.

A man he wished he never would see walk freely again.

"Long time no see." The man snarled in amusement as he stopped in front of the little army.

Shikamaru's body went cold as his frozen eyes were fixed on the man. He knew Chouji and Ino had the exact same reaction than him.

 **xXx**

Temari panted as she stood opposite Sakura. Body's scattered around them. Sakura's eyes were completely glazed over, it was like she was asleep...

Temari frowned as she heard the sound of fighting upper in the mountain. Karui wasn't that far up in the mountain, so why were there fighting? After Karui went looking for the weapons Sakura got worse and in her rampage, she destroyed the prison cells they were kept in. Temari jumped out her prison cell to block Sakura's next attack that was aimed at Hinata.

Temari dodged Sakura as she changed her target from Hinata to her. Temari had to admit, Sakura was giving her a tough time without her fan. She just hoped Karui will return with her fan quickly. Sakura drove Temari back in a corner making Temari scowl. This wasn't going to end well...

Temari grunted and aimed a kick at Sakura's head, but Sakura simply grabbed Temari's leg, much to her dismay. Sakura then stepped back, still holding on to Temari's leg then through her over her shoulder and into the air.

"Temari!" Hinata called out worryingly

Temari quickly made hand signs as she flew through the air. A perfect clone of Temari appeared behind her seconds after she made the necessary hand signs. Temari flipped in the air and used her clone to stop her descends towards the hard wall as she used the clone to step on and propelled herself back to Sakura.

Temari slammed her fist into the side of Sakura's head as she flew to her making Sakura stumble to the side. Temari landed on the floor feet first, extending her arm to Sakura which turned to snakes. Temari's numerous snakes grabbed Sakura then flung her into a wall.

However, that wasn't nearly enough to stop Sakura.

"Temari!" Temari heard Karui call.

Temari knew never to take her eyes of her opponents, but it couldn't be helped. Temari quickly turned her head to where Karui's voice was coming from. Karui stood in one of the hallways, running towards them, her blood soaked sword in one hand and her beloved fan in the other. Karui threw Temari's fan through the air towards her.

"Take Hinata and find a way out, I'll take care of Sakura." Temari said catching her fan with one hand.

However, when Temari looked back to where Sakura was, it was already too late. She was already upon Temari.

"Fuck." Temari said bluntly as Sakura punched her with a roar.

Temari spit out blood as Sakura's fist connected with her stomach, causing her to fly through a wall into another room. However she never let go of her fan, even when her back struck the second wall. Temari fell from the wall and landed in a crouch as she looked up while wiping the blood from her mouth.

However, as her eyes lifted she saw that she was in a big round room with a lot of people in it.

"Uhm... hi..." Temari said awkwardly as the room stayed deadly quiet as all eyes stayed on her.

She watched her surroundings with blurry vision. That last hit from Sakura really took its toll on her. Temari scowled, she was minutes away from going back into her coma...

 **xXx**

Shikamaru watched the man with wide eyes, not wanting to believe what he saw.

"Hidan..." Shikamaru said with complete shock in his voice.

"Surprised?" Hidan said smugly twirling his scythe.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Shikamaru growled.

He should still be decapitated in his hole.

"You can't expect me to be stuck in that shit hole forever Shikamaru. Especially if you never visit me." Hidan said with a pout.

"How the hell did you escape?" Shikamaru asked clutching his chakra knives.

"With the help of this lovely fellow over here." Hidan chuckled gesturing at Taiga.

"Hey, don't forget about me ass hole." The auburn haired girl said glaring at him.

"Oh yeah and his sister." Hidan said bluntly making her roll her eyes.

"I'll take the guy with the Rinne Sharingan." Sasuke said softly so only his comrades could hear.

"I'll take Sasuke's sister." Naruto whispered making everyone sweat drop.

"She's not my sister, idiot. She's probably one of Orochimaru's experiments." Sasuke said rolling his eyes at him while Naruto glared at him because he called him an idiot.

"I'll take Hidan." Shikamaru said in a low tone.

"I'll take the Yamanaka's." Ino said with clenched fists.

"Guess we'll take the rest of the army then." Kiba smirked looking at Sai, Chouji and Shino.

"What are you maggots whispering about?" Hidan asked irritated.

"Why are you doing this Hidan?" Shikamaru asked completely ignoring Hidan's question.

"Like I'll tell you..." Hidan scoffed crossing his arms.

There was a moment of silence where nobody said anything, not wanting to break the silence. Nobody dared move either.

"Okay, I'll tell you..." Hidan said uncrossing his arms while the auburn haired girl face palmed.

"My goal is not just to get revenge on you for keeping me in that shit hole, but also to destroy the world and raise it back up as a world who believe in Jashin's teachings. I gathered shinobi from different villages to learn their secrets. The pregnant Hyaga was just for her baby. It could be usefully later in the game. I could've taken Temari's brother. But why take the brother when you'd suffer more if I take her... Anyways once the world follows Jashin's~" Hidan said with a smug smirk until he was ever so rudely interrupted.

A body shot through the right side of the floor and flew into the left wall, denting and cracking the wall before the person dropped to the floor limply. However just before she hit the floor she seemed to regain consciousness again, landing in a crouching position. She lifted her head making her blond hair fall back as her teal eyes scanned the room while whipping the blood from her mouth.

"Uhm... hi..." Temari said awkwardly, still crouching on the floor.

"Temari?" Shikamaru asked shocked at her sudden appearance.

Her eyes turned to the person that called her name making her eyes lock on Shikamaru's chocolate Browning eyes. However, something was wrong. Her teal eyes were not focused and observant as usual, they seemed to struggle to stay awake.

But he couldn't help drowning in them anyway. It was so long since he'd looked into her beautiful teal eyes...

"That bitch interrupted my evil speech." Hidan said in a depressed voice.

"Maybe next time buddy." The auburn haired girl said patting his back.

"What idiot let them escape?!" Hidan yelled furiously turning to his army who remained deadly quiet.

"The pink haired woman destroyed the prison again." One soldier spoke up making Sasuke raise an eyebrow then drop it again, that sounded exactly like Sakura.

"I know! That bitch keeps destroying my damn prisons." Hidan said with an exaggerated sigh.

"Hey, ass hole!" Temari called breaking her gaze from Shikamaru to try and find Hidan who looked around.

"Are you talking to me?" Hidan asked feeling insulted.

"Yes, dumb ass! Sakura is on her way up." Temari said irritably as she rolled her eyes and stood up.

"Isn't it a good thing that Sakura is coming up?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, she's a delusional mess. She'll make this whole mountain cave in on itself." Temari said with a sigh then glared at Hidan knowing it's his fault.

"Enough talking. Let's start the fight already." Hidan groaned.

"Naruto, go find Hinata. She needs you. She's somewhere in this cave with Karui." Temari said softly before the uproar begun, but Naruto still heard her.

Temari opened her fan as the fight begun. Her eyes desperately searching for Shikamaru but she couldn't find him. He was lost in the sea of people. Temari couldn't see clearly anymore she could only barely see Sasuke fighting with Taiga since he was the closest to her, fighting to see who's eyes were stronger.

She heard Ino somewhere ranting about betrayal. She heard the buzz of Shino's bugs. She heard the growls of Sai's tigers. She heard Hidan's menacing laughs and Sakura's battle cry, which made her scowl. But she couldn't see anything that was going on. Everything was just a giant blur.

Temari opened her fan and summoned a strong sharp wind that blew everything that was around her away.

"Watch it Temari, you almost caught me in your Jutsu. Are you trying to kill me as well?" Shino asked without emotion.

"Sorry Shino, I didn't see you there." Temari said sheepishly.

"How couldn't you see me? I was right in front of you..." Shino said then continued fighting.

Temari stood in her fighting position ready to defend herself, however. She didn't see Sakura coming from the side. Sakura's fist connected to her side that made her fly through the air like a rag doll.

"Sakura!" She heard Sasuke yell as she flew against a wall again, however, this time she fell limp to the ground as blood trickled down her mouth.

Sakura turned towards Sasuke, a mix of anger and fear in her eyes. Sasuke abandoned his opponent and walked hastily towards Sakura. Sakura ran towards him with her fist. Sakura went for the punch once Sasuke was close enough, but he simply pushed her fist away.

Unable to stop, she crashed into him and before she could jump away he wrapped his arm around her snapping her from her daze.

"Sasuke..." Sakura said in the ghost of a whisper.

"Let's go outside, you'll make this whole mountain cave in on us." Sasuke said softly into her hair.

Sakura nodded as tears welled in her eyes. Sasuke used his teleportation technique then teleported himself, Sakura and Taiga outside...

Temari laid on the floor as her world flickered from reality to blackness to the blossom tree continuously, which made her nauseous, to say the least. At least her eyes weren't blurry anymore. Temari sat up and panted as she clutched her fan for dear life as she tried to stay awake.

"What's the matter, dear? Afraid of going back into your coma?" A vicious voice said as he crouched before her.

"Get away from me." Temari growled as she looked up at Hidan and swung her fan at his head which he easily dodged.

Temari tried again, but he simply grabbed her fan and tossed it aside. He took her chin in his hand and ran his thumb over the corner of her mouth with a sickening smirk. Getting her blood all over his thumb, which made Temari's heart drop to her stomach. She was as good as dead now.

"Hidan!" Shikamaru roared as he walked menacingly towards him, his shadow tendrils shooting out to him.

Hidan grinned as he stood up and turned to Shikamaru, licking Temari's blood of his finger. Hidan laughed as his skin turned black with traces of white. Temari's eyes widened, he must've drawn the circle while she blacked out. Shikamaru's tendrils stopping inches from Hidan's body, traces of fear in Shikamaru's eyes.

"Not so keen on attacking me now, are you?" Hidan said in a low tone laced in pleasure which made Shikamaru scowl.

Temari grimaced, she was too weak to stand up and Hidan had consumed her blood. What made things even more fantastic was the fact that she couldn't get to Shikamaru because Hidan stood between them. She was screwed... 

* * *

**A/N: I'm soooo sorry this chapter took so long. I really had no inspiration and I was swarmed with work. But I'm finally done with the chapter and I liked how it turned out.**

 **Please comment and follow and all that jazz (Chicago (the broadway show) is awesome btw...)**


	35. SURGERY

_**"And go back to a time that was different. A time when I didn't feel like there was something missing. Now my body and mind are so distant. Don't know how to escape from this prison" - I can't breathe, Bea Miller**_

* * *

Naruto panted as he ran down the halls, searching desperately for Hinata. He hoped she was still okay. He skidded around corners and ran through the halls, finally getting a hint as to where Hinata was. He felt her getting closer as he sprinted through the halls.

"Hinata!" Naruto yelled, trying to find out where exactly she is or if she's even close to him.

"Naruto!" He heard her petite voice call out to him.

"I'm coming Hinata! Hang on!" Naruto said as he turned around another corner.

However, instead of meeting Hinata around the corner, he met Sasuke's sister again. She stood directly in his path to Hinata. His blue eyes met her bloodthirsty red eyes. She stood there with her hands on her hips and a smug smirk.

"Where are you going Blondie?" The auburn haired woman asked.

"Get out my way." Naruto growled.

The woman scoffed before she made hand signs and inhaled, placing her fingers in front of her lips then exhaled. Blowing large amounts of fire towards Naruto. Naruto used his tails to dig a hole through the roof and used them to pull him up to the floor above them, avoiding the fireball completely.

Naruto ran for a small distance then dug another hole which he dropped from, a Rasengan ready in each tail. Naruto dropped behind the woman and slammed his Rasengans in her back, but instead of her flying, she popped in a puff of smoke. Naruto scowled as he searched for her, but he couldn't find her anywhere.

"I don't have time for this." Naruto growled irritated, starting to search for her negative chakra.

"Why so impatient?" The woman taunted, her voice echoing throughout the hall.

Naruto formed a Rasengan in his hand and quickly whipped around, slamming the Rasengan into the wall. The wall cracked and fell away under the power of the Rasengan, revealing the woman that annoyed Naruto to no end. The Rasengan broke through the wall and rammed straight into her stomach, passing her further into the wall with force.

She coughed up blood as she finally broke the wall and flew into the one behind her. Knocking her unconscious.

"Hinata!" Naruto yelled again, but this time he received no answer.

Only silence met him. Naruto ran faster and entered a medium-sized open room. That's when his eyes met those calming white eyes that always made him feel at ease. Hinata turned her head towards Naruto as soon as he entered the room, her distressed eyes flooding with relieve.

Hinata was standing behind Karui with weak knees that looked like they would give in at any moment with her arms wrapped around herself. Karui stood with her sword, that was dripping with blood and an intimidating expression. However, Naruto saw her shaking for some reason.

"Shadow clone Jutsu!" Naruto exclaimed as he made a hand sign.

Dozens of Naruto clones popped into existence each making a Rasengan of their own. Karui visibly relaxed from relieve as each Naruto exclaimed and slammed a Rasengan into each shinobi in the room. The Naruto's popped out of existence as he saw that every shinobi was down for the count.

Naruto ran over to Hinata, transforming back to his original form. He ran until he stopped in front of her, cupping her cheeks in his hands while resting his forehead on hers. She smiled up at him while she held his arms.

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked in a soft tone as he looked into her beautiful eyes.

She nodded even though Naruto could see she was hurting, but to her, everything was okay now that he's here. Naruto broke eye contact and looked at Karui as he pulled Hinata into a hug.

"Thank you." Naruto said looking at Karui with grateful eyes because he knew she was protecting Hinata when he couldn't.

"No problem." Karui replied with a smile.

Naruto suddenly released Hinata from his embraced and picked her up bridal style, making her squeal slightly from surprise

"Stay close." Naruto said to Karui who nodded and sheathed her sword.

Naruto started jogging with Hinata in his arms to the closest exit with Karui right behind him. He needed to get Hinata to Sakura or a hospital as soon as possible, he could see the pain Hinata was in and it unnerved him completely. Hinata rested her hands on her stomach as she closed her eyes while Naruto carried her, she trusted him completely.

 **xXx**

Sasuke currently stood outside on the mountain in the pouring rain. Facing two opponents. One he was reluctant to hurt the other one not that much. Sakura went back to her delusional state when they arrived outside. So now Sasuke was standing with his sword in hand while Taiga stood in front of him to his left and Sakura to Sasuke's right.

It was a real pain fighting Taiga while fending of Sakura. If she keeps at it, he'd have no choice, but to use his Genjutsu on her... Sasuke was the first to make a move as he jumped with lightning speed towards Taiga, swinging his sword with precision at all Taiga's vital points. Sadly not one of them met their target.

Sasuke felt Sakura's presence behind him as she went in for the punch, however, he duck at the last second making Sakura's fist miss the back of Sasuke head, but connected with Taiga's face, sending him flying and skidding to a stop on the floor.

Sasuke turned his head and locked eyes with her, his eyes morphing into a new shape. Sakura's eyes widened as Sasuke's Genjutsu took hold of her, making her drop to her knees. Sasuke felt guilty putting her under a Genjutsu, but he didn't want her to get caught in the middle of his attacks and get hurt.

After he placed Sakura under his Genjutsu he snapped his gaze to Taiga who was still skidding on the ground.

"Amaterasu." Sasuke said as his gaze stayed on Taiga, making him combust into black flames.

However, he only burnt for a second before he was replaced by a log in a puff of smoke. Sasuke stood up and looked around calmly searching for where Taiga went. However suddenly Sasuke felt himself getting pulled to an unknown location, but he knew it was Taiga's Rinnegan that was doing this.

Sasuke turned in his spot, still getting pulled, and watched Taiga's unemotional face with his own uncaring eyes. Sasuke waited until he was almost against Taiga and his Kunai before using his Jutsu.

"Inferno Style: Honoikazuchi." Sasuke said before black spikes of Amaterasu surrounded him.

Piercing into Taiga. Taiga coughed up blood as the spikes went straight through him, also setting him aflame. The man screamed as the flames burnt him, but that didn't bother Sasuke much. He simply turned around and walked away, leaving the man screaming on the floor. Taiga would've been more of a challenge if he'd possessed those eyes longer.

He was still completely inexperienced with those eyes.

Sasuke walked over to Sakura who was still on her knees paralysed from his Genjutsu. Sasuke wrapped his arm around Sakura's shoulder and released his Genjutsu. Sakura gasped and fell forward, luckily Sasuke's arm was there to keep her from falling.

"You're an ass hole." Sakura panted as her hair fell over her face.

"I know. Are you okay?" Sasuke asked looking at her.

"You tell me. Do I look okay?" Sakura asked softly.

"Physically you're fine, but mentally you're not. However, I believe you'll be fine in time, you just need to crush your demons." Sasuke said standing up while holding her hand.

"You think I can do that?" Sakura asked looking up at Sasuke.

"You're Sakura Haruno, you can crush anything." Sasuke said with a small smile as he pulled her to her feet.

A smile tugged at the corners of Sakura's lip as she placed her hands on his chest. The space between your bodies non-existing. Sasuke leant his head down while Sakura stood on her toes. Their lips inches away from each other...

"Sakura!" An obnoxious voice yelled as he burst through the exit.

Sasuke and Sakura whipped their heads away while Sakura quickly put space between her and Sasuke while blushing profoundly.

"Sakura!" Naruto yelled again stopping at the exit while Karui stepped out behind him.

Naruto blinked for a minute before realisation hit him.

"I totally interrupted something, didn't I?" Naruto said awkwardly while Sasuke glared at him.

"Yep." Karui said popping her 'p'.

"What do you want Naruto?" Sakura asked quite grumpily.

Naruto opened his mouth to answer, but before he could answer a scream escaped Hinata. Sakura scowled and ran towards Hinata who was in Naruto's arms.

"She's been screaming before we found the exit. Please help her..." Naruto pleaded with worry in his eyes.

Sasuke walked over to them while Sakura examined Hinata then her stomach.

"She's going into Labour." Sakura said still examining Hinata.

"But she's not due for another 2 weeks." Naruto said with furrowed eyebrows.

"You kept track?" Hinata asked smiling up at Naruto.

"Of course I did, I'm the father after all." Naruto said smiling softly at Hinata.

"That's why it's called premature Labour, Naruto." Sakura said focused.

"We need to get Hinata to a hospital now or risk losing the baby." Sakura said troubled.

"I'm not going to allow that to happen." Naruto said with conviction.

"Sasuke, go fetch Sai now. We need a bird to get Hinata back to Konoha as soon as possible." Sakura ordered looking back at Sasuke.

Sasuke nodded then teleported back into the cave to fetch Sai.

 **xXx**

Temari panted as she watched the stare off between Shikamaru and Hidan. Hidan stood with all the confidence in the world while Shikamaru didn't dare make the first move. What happened to Asuma playing in Shikamaru's mind over and over again. The fear of losing someone precious to him again growing.

First Asuma then his dad. He's not losing someone again.

However, for the first time in Shikamaru's life, he had no idea what to do. He had no plan or backup plans and Temari could see that. Temari leant on the wall as she stood up with weak knees. If Shikamaru wasn't going to make the first move, she will.

Shikamaru caught her eye, trying to tell her to not do anything rash. However he couldn't do anything noticeable otherwise, Hidan would notice and he'll stab himself. So she ignored him. Temari silently walked over to Hidan, the world swaying slightly.

"This fight is practically over, Shi~" Hidan was saying smugly, but was interrupted when Temari kicked the black sword like blade out his left hand.

Hidan spun around confused, swinging his scythe at Temari who crouched in order to dodge the sharp scythe. Temari kicked her leg up into a pitch, hitting Hidan square in the jaw making Hidan stumble back. Temari grunted as she felt the impact on her own jaw as well, but she ignored it.

"What makes you think I won't just take my head with my scythe?" Hidan growled at Temari, his back to Shikamaru now.

"Because Shikamaru's got you in his shadow." Temari said with an amused smirk.

Hidan tried looking down only to realise that he was not able to.

"Shit." Hidan scowled.

He really hated Shikamaru and that damn irritating Jutsu of him.

"How about we get you out of that circle Hidan..." Shikamaru said as he started his struggle in walking forward to get Hidan to step out the circle.

Shikamaru may be stronger than he was when Asuma died, but Hidan was still strong so it wasn't a walk in the park in getting Hidan to step out of his circle. However just as Hidan approached the circle's edge, his subordinates started attacking Shikamaru.

Shikamaru fought off the shinobi as Hidan mimicked him.

"You look like an idiot." Temari deadpanned which made a vein pop on Hidan's forehead.

"Shut up! I'll kill you as soon as he releases me!" Hidan yelled angrily.

Temari ignored him and walked over to her fan slowly. Her body screamed at her to stop and just sit down. Telling her it's okay to go to sleep, but she knew better. Temari knew never to sleep in the middle of a fight especially if a psycho can kill you by stabbing himself, also she knew she won't wake up again.

So in the meantime, she'll relish being awake, even if her body protested. Temari bent down and picked up her fan, using it to lean on so she wouldn't fall over.

Shikamaru grew tired of the amount of Shinobi that kept attacking him, it was hard concentrating on keeping Hidan under his Jutsu, defending himself and keeping an eye on Temari because he was worried about her. Shikamaru made several shadow tendrils and shot them through the enemy shinobi that surrounded him.

Making them drop to the floor. Temari turned her head slightly to the side to see Sasuke appearing in the room via his teleportation Jutsu. She watched him walk over to Sai and placed a hand on his shoulders, surprising Sai. Sasuke disappeared without a word, taking Sai with him. It made Temari wonder what's so urgent.

"Hey, you!" Hidan yelled at one of his subordinates, peeking Temari's interest.

 _What's he up to?_

"Send a telepathic message to all archers and tell them to shoot me!" Hidan said making the man's eyebrows shoot up while Temari scowled.

"But sir~" the man tried to interject.

"Do it!" Hidan yelled irritated.

"You bastard." Temari growled.

Temari knocked one of the Shinobi Kiba was fighting out and took one of their kunai. She aimed the kunai at the shinobi using the telepathic link and pegged the kunai in his heart. However, it was too late Temari saw archers turn to Hidan with their bow and arrow while the telepathic ninja dropped to the floor limply.

Temari quickly scouted where all the archers were and luckily for her most of them were clustered to her right. Temari opened her fan and let out a powerful wind as she swung her fan with a roar. Making them all fly away and buying herself some time. However, Hidan's insane laugh caught her attention as well as Shikamaru's. Temari scowled looking around for another archer that could end her life right on the spot.

Her eyes caught the movement of someone readying a bow to her left. However, she was too weak to do anything about it.

"What's going on?" Shikamaru asked seeing her scowling while Hidan laughed.

"The archer is going to shoot Hidan." Temari answered.

"Where is he?" Shikamaru asked grabbing a kunai from his ninja pouch.

"To your right at the back." Temari said.

Shikamaru turned around saw him. However, he saw too late. The archer already released the arrow. Temari ran to where Hidan was and where the arrow would hit him while Shikamaru took one of his kunai with his chakra and pegged it in Hidan's shadow so he couldn't move.

It made it easier for the arrow to hit his target since he couldn't move anymore, but if Shikamaru just left him then he'll cut off his own head. He also couldn't keep Hidan in his shadow because then he couldn't nearly move fast enough to stop the arrow.

Shikamaru stretched out his hand to try and stop the arrow or at least steer it of course, but he didn't make it. He watched in horror as the tips of his fingers just missed the arrow. He stumbled as he stopped and turned to look at the arrow that continued flying towards Hidan.

However, Temari could still be able to reach it and block it with her fan of it wasn't for the fact that someone kicked her away before she could block the arrow. Shikamaru wrapped a tendril around the guy's neck and threw him away from Temari.

Temari stood up again, but it was too late. She watched the arrow go inside the upper left side of Hidan's stomach and come out the other side making Temari's eyes widen. Both of them hissing in pain.

"What dumb ass is so inaccurate that he'll hit my stomach and not my heart?" Hidan yelled angrily, obviously not pleased.

"Temari!" Shikamaru yelled looking at Temari.

Temari gasped in horror as she felt a gaping hole forming in her stomach and back, she looked at Shikamaru's horrified face. However, she broke eye contact and looked down at her stomach, at the blood seeping through her clothes.

Temari frowned as she touched her wound and brought her blood soaked hand up to her face like she never saw blood in her life. She lowered her hand and looked Shikamaru in his eyes with a frown.

Shikamaru ran to her side as she started swaying unsteadily. Her breathing was uneasy as she tried to gasp air in her lungs. That last wound was the last straw for Temari's body, it just couldn't take anymore. Temari's face softened and her frown disappeared as she looked sadly at Shikamaru, her consciousness was slipping. Temari's lifted her hand to Shikamaru's face and cupped his cheek in her one hand.

"I'll be alright." Temari said softly resting her forehead on his.

She knew she'd either go into a cationic state or a coma as soon as she loses consciousness, meaning she won't see Shikamaru for a while.

"Come on Temari, stay with me." Shikamaru said his voice cracking slightly.

"I'll wake up eventually." Temari said drowsily with a soft smile as blackness consumed her mind.

Temari's blood soaked hand slipped off Shikamaru's face, leaving a red trail of where her hand slipped off.

"Temari?" Shikamaru said softly, watching her body go limp in his arms.

Shikamaru laid her on the ground softly and clenched his fist. Turning his angered filled gaze towards Hidan who was still laughing with the arrow sticking out his stomach.

"I'll have your head, Hidan." Shikamaru growled angrily walking over to Hidan who stopped laughing.

"I'll make you rot in that hole again." Shikamaru said stopping in front of Hidan, glaring at him.

"I'd like to see you try." Hidan growled a reply, glaring back at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru and Hidan glared at each other for a few tense seconds until Shikamaru broke eye contact. He scanned the room in till he found his blond teammate.

"Ino, get over here!" Shikamaru yelled, not wanting to go over to Ino and risk someone hurting Temari or stabbing Hidan who was still in that damn circle.

Luckily Ino heard Shikamaru and knocked her opponent out before jumping to Shikamaru.

"Yes?" Ino said looking at Shikamaru confused.

"What happened to your face?" Ino asked with concern as she went closer to examine her long time friend's face.

"I'm fine, it's not my blood." Shikamaru said grimly.

Shikamaru turned his eyes toward Temari again, who was laying on the floor with blood pouring from her stab wound. Ino followed his gaze and gasped.

"What happened to her?" Ino asked in a confused voice as she rushed over to Temari's side to try and stop the bleeding.

She wasn't Sakura, but she knew the basics.

"Hidan happened. Someone shot him with an arrow while he was standing in his circle." Shikamaru said scowling while Ino used the mystical palm Jutsu to stop Temari's bleeding.

Shikamaru left Temari in Ino's care as he walked back over to Hidan who looked bored not being able to move. Shikamaru walked over to Hidan and took his scythe from him, which made him curse Shikamaru repeatedly. Shikamaru then walked to his chakra infused kunai that kept Hidan in place and pulled it from his shadow, quickly reconnected his shadow with Hidan's before he could get away.

"This is getting old Shikamaru... you've got me in your shadow again, now what?" Hidan said with an exaggerated sigh.

"Now I'm getting you out that circle." Shikamaru said, Hidan's scythe still in his right hand.

Shikamaru stared Hidan down as he slowly inched forward, making Hidan do the same. Hidan scowled and cursed, but eventually, he did come out off his circle, no matter how much he fought against it. Hidan's black skin colour faded away and became his natural skin tone again.

However Shikamaru didn't stop, he continued walking forward. However now he walked with more ease than he did before. He glared at Hidan while Hidan gritted his teeth. Shikamaru only stopped when Hidan was right in front of him. Not being able to move while Shikamaru clenched Hidan's scythe made him more than a little nervous.

"Let's think this through Shikamaru..." Hidan said nervously.

"What's there to think through?" Shikamaru said lifting his right hand with the scythe.

"Shikamaru... Wait!" Hidan exclaimed as Shikamaru swung the scythe towards Hidan's neck.

Hidan screamed in pain as the sharp blades of the scythe connected with his neck. Cutting clean through. Hidan's head rolled off his shoulders and bounced to the ground while Hidan's body fell to its knees. Hidan's body fell to the floor while his head stopped rolling. A puddle of blood immediately forming where Hidan's body fell.

"Decapitated by my own weapon... how humiliating." Hidan sighed.

Shikamaru turned his back on Hidan and walked back to ino.

"You know you can't kill me Shikamaru! I'll make your life miserable for as long as you live!" Hidan yelled angrily making Shikamaru stop and turn his head towards Hidan.

"Maybe I'll throw you in a fire and see if that will kill you." Shikamaru said glaring at Hidan.

"You wouldn't..." Hidan said glaring back.

"Wouldn't I? It'll be an interesting experiment." Shikamaru said turning his head back and walked to Temari and Ino.

"Ino, tell Sai to meet us outside we're taking Temari to the hospital... oh and Hidan's coming along." Shikamaru said nonchalantly.

"There's no way in hell I'm carrying that disgusting bloody mess!" Ino exclaimed crossing her arms.

"I heard that bitch!" Hidan exclaimed.

"I'll carry him." Chouji said stepping in the conversation.

"Thanks, Chouji. Ino what's our situation?" Shikamaru asked, needing an update.

"Hinata, Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke are all on their way back to Konoha. Sai is on his way back outside and as you can see the rest is fighting here." Ino said.

"Alright, I'm going back to Konoha. Temari needs medical attention. Ino come back with me and take Hidan to the interrogation headquarters. I'll deal with him as soon as I can. Chouji after carrying Hidan go back with Sai and help Kiba and Shino. Contain this mountain and as soon as reinforcements come you guys can leave." Shikamaru said and they nodded.

Shikamaru bent down and picked Temari up bridal style, her arm falling limply to the side as well as her head while Chouji went to Hidan. Chouji enlarged his right hand and held Hidan because he didn't want to throw him over his shoulder and get blood all over his back.

He then picked up Hidan's head by his hair and squeezed his body to the point of crushing him because he really disliked Hidan.

"Hey have a little respect! Even if I'm a decapitated head I can still feel pain and it hurts likes a bitch!" Hidan explained angrily while Chouji carried him with his hair.

"Someone make him shut up." Shikamaru growled angrily while carrying Temari carefully.

"How are we suppose to do that?" Chouji asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't know. Fill his mouth with dirt or something. He's used to it anyway." Shikamaru said nonchalantly.

"You ass hole..." Hidan growled.

"Don't test me Hidan." Shikamaru said with something dangerous in his voice.

The group searched for an exit and finally found one, no thanks to Hidan. Shikamaru glanced worryingly down to Temari, her breathing shallowed and it looked like she was struggling to breathe.

"Ino..." Shikamaru said looking up at Ino with a concerned look.

Ino sighed knowing already what he was about to ask.

"Her left lung collapsed." Ino said grimly as they exited the cave and entered three pouring rain.

Shikamaru scowled while the group walked over to Sai who was watching the rain fall from the clouds.

"Sai." Ino said happily, drawing his attention to them.

Sai turned his head towards Ino and smiled, but then his eyes caught sight of the annoying talking decapitated head which made him raise an eyebrow at Shikamaru.

"Long story. Can you draw us a bird please." Shikamaru asked with a sigh.

Sai nodded then drew two birds. Shikamaru jumped on the closest bird, tightening his hold on Temari who was shivering slightly from the cold. Ino jumped on the other bird while Chouji placed Hidan's body and head behind Ino, much to her dismay.

"Can't we just tie him up and string him along. He's bleeding everywhere." Ino said crinkling her nose in disgust.

"If you didn't want me to bleed everywhere then he shouldn't have decapitated me." Hidan said irritated making Ino sigh.

This is going to be a long ride home.

"We'll see you guys soon." Shikamaru said nodding at sai and Chouji.

Temari was placed on Shikamaru's lap as he held her in his arms close to his body while rubbing her arms to make her warm. The birds flapped their wings and took off for Konoha. Luckily it was only a day's travel with the birds. However, it was still too long for someone in Temari's condition.

 **xXx**

Sakura has long since switched places with Naruto on the birds. Hinata's condition kept worsening and she was now writhing in pain. Sakura had to do an emergency operation right away, but the village was still about an hour away. However, if she didn't operate now the chances of Hinata having a miscarriage increases considerably.

Sakura gritted her teeth. She could start the operation now, but she'd have to do it with a kunai and a kunai wasn't delicate enough. Plus then she can't move Hinata into the hospital once they got there. Things were not looking good...

Sakura pumped chakra in her hands that were glowing with a green aura as she tried to keep Hinata and her baby in a stable condition until they arrived at the hospital. Naruto sat on the other bird with Sasuke, watching them with anxious eyes.

The hour went by slowly and Sakura was really pushing it. Her chakra was almost depleted as well. The birds landed in front of the gate slowly which vexed Sakura.

"Naruto, quickly get Hinata and be extremely gentle with her." Sakura said looking back at Naruto.

Naruto quickly went to Hinata and picked her up gently then jumped from roof to roof behind Sakura while Sasuke tagged along. Sakura entered the hospital first and the whole hospital went quite. It was such a long time since Sakura was at the hospital, it almost felt foreign. Almost.

The nurses watched her in shock, never expecting sakura to enter the doors so suddenly or the Hokage.

"Prepare for an emergency c section!" Sakura exclaimed while the nurses stared at her silently.

"Now!" Sakura yelled, making the nurses jump into action.

"Which operating room is open?" Sakura asked walking with authority down the halls with five nurses following her.

"Room 101." A nurse answered.

Sakura then speed walked towards the room followed by the nurses, Naruto with Hinata in his arms and Sasuke. Sakura opened the doors wide and entered with her nurses as well as Naruto, Sasuke, however, knew better than to try and follow. He knew Sakura would only kick him out as soon as he steps a foot in the room. So he took a seat on the bench outside.

Naruto placed Hinata on the operating table and kissed her forehead.

"You and the baby will be alright." Naruto said with a smile.

"You need to leave Naruto." Sakura said tying her hair in a ponytail.

"But Sakura~" Naruto argued, but she interrupted him.

"Now Naruto!" Sakura yelled angrily, kicking him squarely in the chest which sent him flying out the door.

A nurse closed the door and the operating light outside the room went on as Naruto sat up. Naruto jumped up and paced in front of the doors making Sasuke sigh heavily. Sasuke closed his eyes and leant his head back against the wall.

Sasuke sat on that bench while Naruto just paced or sat next to him with his head in his hands until they heard a crash inside the operating room, making both the men sit up straight.

"What was that?" Naruto asked anxiously, but Sasuke didn't answer.

It was a tense minute until a nurse stumbled out the operating room battered and bruised.

"What happened?" Naruto asked panicked as he jumped up.

"Sakura just started going crazy. She's throwing everything around and attacking us." The nurse said panting.

"She's having another episode." Sasuke said scowling with Naruto.

"Please help us calm her down Sasuke." The nurse asked looking at Sasuke who stood up and went inside calmly.

However, as naruto tried to follow the nurse stopped him and ordered him to wait outside.

"I'm the father! How come only Sasuke gets to go in?" Naruto asked angrily.

"Because if anyone can calm her down, it's him. She loves him after all, it's no secret." The nurse said closing the doors.

Naruto fell back down on the bench and rubbed his face. At least it was silent in the operating room again. Naruto sighed, he trusted Sakura's medical skills and he trusted Sasuke to keep Hinata and his baby safe. Naruto waited for another hour. Nobody has even come out to update him, not even Sasuke.

Naruto rubbed his face again, but he lifted his head up again when he heard footsteps. Naruto turned his head to see someone he was extremely familiar with.

"Shikamaru?" Naruto asked surprised.

Shikamaru was surprised seeing Naruto, but he never missed a step. Shikamaru walked fastly with Temari in his arms while he followed a two doctor and a few nurses. The left side of his face was covered with dry blood and his and Temari's shirts were both stained with blood. Temari also had a trail of dry blood that had trailed down the corners of her mouth.

"We'll talk soon Naruto." Shikamaru said rushing past Naruto while he nodded.

Shikamaru walked down the hall to another operation room, which was coincidentally down the hall from Hinata's. Naruto watched Shikamaru enter the room with the doctor and nurses only to be kicked out minutes later like Naruto was.

Shikamaru ran his fingers through his hair and looked around, remembering Naruto's existence when his eyes met his. Shikamaru sighed and walked over to Naruto with his hands in his pockets.

"What happened?" Shikamaru asked leaning against the wall next to the door for the room Hinata was in.

Shikamaru fished out a cigarette and his believed lighter he got from his teacher. Naruto raised an eyebrow at Shikamaru as he lit the cigarette and blew out smoke while he placed the lighter back into his pocket.

"Hinata went into premature labour." Naruto said with worry in his eyes.

"You know you're not supposed to smoke in here, right?" Naruto said with a raised eyebrow while Shikamaru just shrugged.

He was going to smoke whether Sakura liked it or not.

"Where's Sasuke? Didn't he come back to the leaf with you?" Shikamaru asked with a raised eyebrow.

"He's in the operating room, he seems to keep Sakura from going into her episodes." Naruto said with a sigh.

"What happened to Temari, I saw two doctors?" Naruto asked curiously, grateful to be talking to someone.

"The one is to deal with her collapsed lung and to stitch her up and the other one is to look at her brain, he's a neurologist. They took an operating room close to where Sakura is operating because they want her opinion after she is done with Hinata." Shikamaru said glancing at the door where Temari is behind.

"How long has Hinata been in surgery?" Shikamaru asked still watching the door.

"2 hours." Naruto sighed.

"That long?" Shikamaru asked looking back at Naruto who nodded.

"That's rought." Shikamaru said blowing out smoke while Naruto sighed.

"We have to let Gaara know we found Temari and about her condition." Naruto said rubbing his tired eyes.

"We can do that tomorrow Naruto. Your kid is being born. Besides it's already 1 am, you need sleep." Shikamaru said looking back at the door where Temari was.

"As I know you, you're also not going to sleep at all tonight. Besides you need to go clean yourself Shikamaru. You look liked you just murdered someone " Naruto said watching Shikamaru as he referred to the amount of blood that was on Shikamaru.

Shikamaru looked down only to realise that Naruto was right which made him sigh deeply and inhale some more smoke.

"Is Temari going to be okay?" Naruto asked looking up at Shikamaru.

"I don't know..." Shikamaru answered truthfully, watching the floor with a worried frown. 

* * *

**A/N: I'm soooo happy, only one more week then my vacation begins! I swear I always have a lot of things I want to put in the A/N before I write it, but as soon as I start writing it I go blank…**

 **Omg, my brother downloaded the right emulator for me on my laptop now I can play al** **l** **the thousands of PSP games some random dude chipped for my brother on my laptop and final fantasy crises core is on it and I'm like yaaaaay!**

 **Oh and if you guys have a link as to where I can watch Silent voice for free without registering to some dodgy thing please send it to me…**

 **Anyway, I hope you guys liked the chapter and please comment, follow and all jazz!**


	36. FIRE

_**"And whilst I watch in silence, you're starting Forest Fires. You start them just to feel the heat. And whilst I keep my quiet, you're running with the tigers." - Forest fires, Lauren Aquilina**_

* * *

Time ticked by slowly as the two men waited outside of the operating rooms. Naruto started pacing again while Hinata was in an emergency c section. Sasuke was in the operating room am with Sakura to keep her calm and Shikamaru still smoked in the hall waiting for Temari. She was in the operating room so they could fix her collapsed lung and stitch the hole in her stomach and back. She also had a neurologist that was looking at her mind.

Trying to keep her from going into a coma.

The men fell into silence while Shikamaru stared at the door Temari was behind because Naruto's pacing was making even Notre nervous than he already was. However, the silence was soon broken when the light from Hinata's operating room turned off and the doors swung open.

Shikamaru scowled as he quickly put out his cigarette and threw it away in a nearby trash can before Sakura could see him. Naruto stopped pacing and turned to Sakura with an anxious look as she exited. Sakura stepped outside the operating room with a big smile and a bundle of blankets.

"It's a baby boy." Sakura exclaimed excitedly making Naruto's eyes light up as he rushed to her and his baby boy.

Sasuke smiled slightly behind Sakura as well as Shikamaru who still stood at the door.

"You want to hold him?" Sakura asked smiling at Naruto.

"Can I?" Naruto asked looking at her.

"Of course dummy." Sakura laughed handing Naruto his child.

Naruto watched the blond baby boy in his arms with wide eyes as he took him carefully. Being extra gentle and carefully not to drop him. He's never seen a child so small and fragile. But Naruto loved him with all his heart as soon as his eyes saw him.

"How's Hinata?" Naruto asked worryingly as he looked back at Sakura.

"She's doing just fine." Sakura said relieved.

"Can I see her?" Naruto asked.

"She's still under narcosis. Where moving her to the recovery room now, you can go with the nurses and stay at her room if you want to. However Naruto I need to take the baby again, he's still too small, we're going to keep him in an incubator for another week until he's strong enough. We're also going to keep Hinata in the hospital for a few days, just so she can fully recover from this whole ordeal." Sakura said getting serious again leaving Naruto slightly disappointed that he'd have to be separated from his child.

"What's his name?" Sasuke asked Naruto with a small smile.

Naruto frowned and looked down at the baby, thinking of a suitable name.

"Hinata told me in the prison that she liked the name Boruto, but she wanted to run it past you first..." Sakura shrugged, trying to help.

"Boruto... That's perfect." Naruto said softly smiling down at his new baby boy, Boruto.

Sakura smiled, but her smile slowly fell as she sniffed the air.

"Is that smoke I smell?" Sakura asked anger rising inside her.

Shikamaru froze as his body went cold.

"Were you smoking in my hospital Shikamaru?" Sakura asked turning slowly towards Shikamaru.

"No..." Shikamaru said nervously.

"Sakura calm down, you're going to upset Boruto." Naruto said glaring at Sakura while holding his son tightly.

Sakura twitched slightly as she watched Naruto scold her. Shikamaru composed himself and grew serious again.

"Sakura..." Shikamaru said making Sakura turn back to him again.

"What is it?" Sakura asked sensing Shikamaru's serious mood.

"I'm sorry for burdening you with this so late at night, but they're operating on Temari right now and have asked for you after you were done with Hinata." Shikamaru said looking at Sakura with serious and stressed eyes.

"What's wrong with her?" Sakura asked seriously.

"She has a depleted lung and a stab wound in her stomach." Shikamaru answered.

"And she's probably going to stay in a coma." Sakura added surprising Shikamaru and Naruto.

That was exactly what Ino told Shikamaru on their way to Konoha.

"How did you know?" Shikamaru asked.

"I've seen her go in and out of a cationic state more than once. It'll surprise me if she doesn't go into a coma." Sakura said grimly while looking down.

The hall fell into a tense silence as each of them mulled over their own thoughts. The silence was only broken when the nurses started pushing Hinata out the operating room to a recovery room while Naruto silently followed with their child.

"What room is she?" Sasuke asked.

"The one down the hall." Shikamaru said nodding in the direction.

"Let's go Sakura, Temari needs your medical expertise." Sasuke said pushing Sakura in the direction of the operating room while Shikamaru followed.

"What are you doing?" Sakura asked flustered.

"Helping you find direction." Sasuke said bluntly.

"Besides someone needs to keep you sane while you're operating." Sasuke said smiling down at Sakura.

Sakura blushed and looked away with a small smile plastered on her face. However, Sasuke's statement made Shikamaru really nervous for Temari's part. A mental person is about to operate on Temari...

Sakura opened the door to Temari's operating room and entered the room with Sasuke. Shikamaru caught a glimpse of Temari before the doors closed in his face again. He didn't see much but he did see the tubes that were stuck down her throat.

Shikamaru anxiously ran a hand through his hair and sat down opposite the door. He was now completely alone in the hall. Naruto left when Hinata was moved and Sasuke was inside the operating room.

Shikamaru waited alone for an hour before the operating light went off and Sakura walked out the room followed by Sasuke. Shikamaru stood up and waited for Sakura to start talking.

"We fixed her collapsed lung and stitched the holes in her stomach and back..." Sakura started looking exhausted.

"But?" Shikamaru said sensing there was more news.

"But she's going to be in a coma. We really tried everything we could think of to keep her from going into a coma, but nothing worked." Sakura said looking down.

Shikamaru stayed silent, his heart dropping to his stomach. Temari is in a coma...

"They're moving her to one of the hospital's rooms where she'll stay until she wakes up or Gaara takes her to Suna." Sakura said looking back up Shikamaru.

"I'm sorry Shikamaru." Sakura said placing a hand on his shoulder before she left.

Sasuke walked with Sakura, leaving Shikamaru alone in the hall. Shikamaru watched the floor until the nurses rolled Temari's bed out the operating room and to another room. Shikamaru watched Temari's calm face as he followed her to whatever room they were taking her.

They rolled the bed into a room and placed her on a heart machine, so they can monitor her even when they were gone. After that, they left and the room fell into silence, except the constant beeping sound of her heart. Shikamaru grabbed a chair and placed it next to her bed.

He sat in that chair until the sun rose, signalling a new day. However he hadn't slept that night at all, he just sat in that chair while watching Temari. Deep down hoping she'd wake up any moment even if sakura said she was in a coma.

The sun peeked its head over the horizon, throwing pink light over the white hospital wall. Shikamaru sat in his chair still watching Temari when a hand placed itself on his shoulder.

"Get some sleep Shikamaru." Naruto said behind Shikamaru.

"Naruto, why are you awake so early?" Shikamaru asked, his eyes not moving from Temari.

"I fell asleep in a chair in Hinata's room, but I woke up when she woke up. I wanted to stay, but she ordered me to get some food and sleep before I need to go to the office when she heard my stomach rumble." Naruto said nonchalantly.

"Are you going to go to the office?" Shikamaru asked.

"Of course not. I'm going to get some ramen at Ichiraku then I'm heading back to Hinata's room. However, I'll leave a clone in the office." Naruto said with as grin.

Shikamaru stayed silent as he turned his head and looked back at Naruto, making Naruto sigh.

"Go home Shikamaru. Wash yourself off and go get some sleep. It's been a rough couple of days." Naruto said his grin falling.

"Yeah, yeah." Shikamaru said with a sigh as he stood up, he still had something he needed to do.

"Are you going home?" Naruto asked hopefully as Shikamaru walked to the door.

"No." Shikamaru said bluntly as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and disappeared out the door.

Naruto watched Shikamaru and sighed. He watched the empty door for a few seconds then he turned his head towards Temari to watch her sleeping form. Naruto sighed again and walked out the door as well.

Shikamaru walked through the village as the sun slowly crept higher in the sky. He made his way until he stopped in front of his mother's house. He was probably going to give her a heart attack with the amount of blood that was on him, but he knocked on the door anyway. He knew his mom wasn't awake yet and he felt bad about waking her up.

However, he couldn't wait. He continued knocking on the door until he heard signs of life inside the house.

"I'm coming just calm down." His mom called irritated, probably about being woken up at the crack of dawn.

Shikamaru stopped knocking as he heard her approach the door. She swung the door open already starting her rant before she even knew who was at the door.

"What the he'll~" she started, but quickly stopped when she saw who was at the door.

"Shikamaru..." She said surprised, mainly because he was awake at this hour.

"Hi, mom." Shikamaru greeted.

She looked him up and down seeing all the blood on him for the first time.

"What happened to you?" Yoshino asked grabbing his cheeks and looking all over for wounds.

"I'm fine mom, it's not my blood." Shikamaru said averting his eyes.

"What happened?" Yoshino asked as she noticed the shift in his mood.

"I'm just here to grab something, I'll bring it back after I'm done." Shikamaru sighed trying to change the subject.

"You can only lend something from me if you tell me what happened." Yoshino said stubbornly as she crossed her arms.

"Can I at least come in then, it's cold outside." Shikamaru sighed, knowing he wasn't going to win.

His mother stepped aside so he could enter and closed the door behind him. Blocking out the cold that bit at Shikamaru's skin.

Shikamaru walked through his childhood home towards the back door.

"Shikamaru! We're are you going?" Yoshino yelled.

"To the shed." Shikamaru said bluntly as he opened the back door.

Shikamaru walked through the snow towards the shed that was in the back of his family's property while his mother leant against the door frame holding her arms for warmth as she watched her son. Shikamaru opened the door of the shed and looked around inside until he saw what he was looking for.

Shikamaru took the shovel and gasoline then closed the shed door and walked back to the house. Making footprints in the snow. Shikamaru passed his mother when he entered the door and walked through the house again. Yoshino closed the back door then went after Shikamaru.

"Wait, Shikamaru." She exclaimed, but it fell upon deaf ears.

"I said wait dammit!" Yoshino yelled angrily as she smacked Shikamaru on the side of his head making him stumble.

"Sorry, mom." Shikamaru grunted as he rubbed the shore side of his face as he turned to his mom.

"Now sit down!" Yoshino exclaimed pointing towards the couch.

"Yes, mom." Shikamaru said quickly then sat down on the couch, placing the shovel and gasoline next to him.

"Now tell me what happened." Yoshino said sitting down on the couch opposite Shikamaru.

"You remember I told you Hinata, Sakura, Temari and Karui was missing?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yes, but tell me who's Karui again?" Yoshino asked with a frown as she racked her brain.

"She's a shinobi from the cloud village that Chouji likes to talk to." Shikamaru said.

"Oh yes, Chouji's girlfriend. Chouza will be so proud." Yoshino said with a grin.

"Sure whatever." Shikamaru sighed but continued.

"We found them~" Shikamaru said.

"That's great news! But?" Yoshino exclaimed happily, but her happiness faded when she saw Shikamaru's sombre face.

"Karui is fine, Sakura is delusional, Hinata went into premature labour and Temari is in a coma." Yoshino gasped and put a hand in front of her mouth from shock.

However, realisation hit her.

"Hinata was pregnant?" Yoshino asked confused lowering her hand.

"Yes, only my friend and I knew. Nobody else knew but us 12 knew, and probably Temari and Karui since they were imprisoned together." Shikamaru answered.

"Is the baby okay?" Yoshino asked.

"Yes." Shikamaru said with a slight smile.

"That's good. And Temari, how's Temari?" Yoshino asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"She's recovering from a stab wound and will be fine, but she's in a coma. She's not okay mom." Shikamaru said his smile falling as he watched the floor.

"But she'll wake up one day honey." Yoshino said reassuringly.

"But that could take months, years even." Shikamaru said.

Yoshino opened her mouth to say something, but Shikamaru cut her off.

"I have to go, mom." Shikamaru said standing up while taking the shovel and gasoline.

Shikamaru turned around and started walking towards the door.

"Shikamaru..." Yoshino said softly making Shikamaru stop.

"Who's blood are you soaked in?" Yoshino asked looking at his back.

"Temari's." Shikamaru answered without looking back.

"Are you okay, Shikamaru?" Yoshino asked with worried eyes.

Silence hung in the air as neither one of them made a sound. Shikamaru looked down pondering the answered then looked back up again.

"I will be." Shikamaru said softly as hee exited his mother's home.

She never got the chance to ask him why he needed gasoline and a shovel...

He lit a cigarette as he walked with the shovel and gasoline in hand. He walked until he was in front of the interrogation headquarters then threw his cigarette away before walking over to the information desk. The guy sitting behind the desk looked Shikamaru up and down with a raised eyebrow.

"How can I help you Shikamaru?" The guy asked.

"Where is Hidan?" Shikamaru asked the man at the desk.

The man looked down at his book where all the records of occupied rooms are, which made Shikamaru sigh.

"The irritating decapitated head that never shuts up, where is he?" Shikamaru asked looking at the man as his face light up from recognition.

"Oh, right the guy Ino brought in. He's in room 25." The man said pointing down the hall.

"Thanks, look after my shovel and gasoline." Shikamaru said making the man raise an eyebrow as he looked at the shovel and gasoline then at Shikamaru who walked to the room.

"What's with the shovel and gasoline anyway?" The receptionist asked confused but Shikamaru ignored him.

Shikamaru opened the door and was immediately hit with the irritating voice of Hidan.

"I'll kill you as soon as I get my head attached back to my body." Hidan yelled not really knowing who entered since his head was on the table and turned to the wall while his body was strewn over the floor.

Shikamaru ignored him. His mind was as empty as his eyes. He took a cigarette out his pocket and lit it with Asuma's lighter as he grabbed Hidan's long hair between his fingers and picked him off from the table.

"That hurts you son of a bitch!" Hidan exclaimed angrily.

Shikamaru continued ignoring him. He didn't want to be in the same room as Hidan. A man who took so much away from him without a slither of remorse. Shikamaru knew Hidan felt no guilt about what he's done what so ever, in fact, he enjoyed every minute of it. Shikamaru tightened his grip at the thought.

"I said it hurts dammit!" Hidan scowled at Shikamaru.

"I don't care." Shikamaru said plainly as he bent down and grabbed Hidan's ankle, dragging his body out the door.

How long will it be before he targeted Shikamaru's mother? Or Kurenai and Mirai? He was tired of losing people.

"Hey, when did you start smoking?" Hidan said curiously, forgetting his pain.

"Since you came into the picture." Shikamaru said in a dismissive tone.

"Where are you taking me?" Hidan asked with an irritated sigh.

"To another hole in my clan's forest. Deeper this time." Shikamaru said his eyes never straying from the path ahead.

"Can you stop dragging my body around." Hidan growled at Shikamaru.

"No." Shikamaru said bluntly.

Did Hidan really expect him to treat him like a human being after all he's done... The thought made Shikamaru scoff as he reached the entrance of the interrogation headquarters. Shikamaru dropped Hidan's ankle and placed the shovel and gasoline under his arms then took Hidan's ankle again and walked out the exit. Eyes lingered on him as he dragged Hidan's headless body after him while Hidan just kept yelling profanities.

However Shikamaru didn't utter a word, his cold steel eyes just kept staring forward. Determined in the task he had set for himself. The icy wind bit at Shikamaru's exposed skin as he entered the cold streets of Konoha. Shikamaru looked up at the cloudless sky.

It's almost spring...

Shikamaru sighed and entered the forest his family owned. This time he will bury Hidan in the middle of the overgrown forest while the deer kept watch of his tomb. Shikamaru walked through the forest, snow crunching beneath his feet. Eyes peered at him through the frozen leaves. Curious as to what he was doing. The deer watched him with eagle eyes as he walked through the forest, wary of human presence.

But they never ran. They stood rooted to their spots watching Shikamaru until he couldn't be seen through all the trees and branches anymore.

"Have you ever wondered what will happen to your body when it is set on fire?" Shikamaru said taking his cigarette out his mouth and blowing the smoke into the sky.

"It won't work, I'm immortal." Hidan said growling at Shikamaru.

"Are you? In the fourth shinobi war, Kakuzu said that he didn't see you on the battlefield meaning you're still alive. However, that meant he thought that there are ways of killing you since he thought you could be dead." Shikamaru said still smoking.

"That fool..." Hidan scowl.

"Tell me Hidan... what will happen when your body is set aflame. Where will your soul go when your body has crumbled to ashes?" Shikamaru said looking Hidan straight into his eyes.

Hidan scowled at Shikamaru. Shikamaru think that not even Hidan knew if he'd survive being set on fire. This was the first time in Hidan's life where he actually feared death. What will happen to his soul when his body was ash?

Shikamaru dropped the gasoline, Hidan's body and head in the snow and took the shovel in one hand while he stuffed the other hand in his pocket.

"Where the fuck are you going?" Hidan asked shivering in the cold snow.

"Nowhere." Shikamaru said watching the tree in front of him as he dropped his cigarette in the snow.

The snow melted around the cigarette but only until it was soaked and produced no more heat.

Shikamaru sighed, a white cloud floating to the cloudless sky. He took the shovel in both hands and started digging. He dug and dug until his head no longer could see past the ground and the sun was high in the sky.

Shikamaru stopped digging and watched the wet soil. Hidan hasn't shut up once this whole time. How could he have let Hidan escape? That question would haunt him until the day he died. He was indirectly the reason why Temari was in a coma. If he hadn't allowed Hidan to escape he wouldn't have captured Temari and if Temari wasn't captured then she wouldn't have been in a coma. The butterfly effect was in full swing. One flap of its wings caused a whole hurricane.

Shikamaru's eyes hardened as he jumped out the hole and dropped the shovel in the snow. Next, he took out his chakra knives. He swung it on his finger as he analysed the branches. He stopped swinging his chakra knife when he decided with branches looked the driest.

Shikamaru jumped from branch to branch as he cut them all down, catching them before they reached the wet snow and throwing them into the pit he dug. However, his attempt was pointless since the soil was wet. Luckily he brought gasoline.

Shikamaru took the gasoline and poured it on the wood in the hole, making a mental note to buy his mom some gasoline later. Shikamaru watched the gasoline-soaked wood for a while until he opened his mouth.

"I forgot matches..." Shikamaru mused as he lit another cigarette.

"Guess you have to get some now." Hidan smirked vicariously, thinking of a possible way that he can escape while Shikamaru was gone.

"Nah, I'll just use my cigarette." Shikamaru shrugged walking slowly towards Hidan, something dangerous and scary in his eyes.

Hidan scowled as he watched Shikamaru walk closer. One threatening step after the other.

"Get away!" Hidan yelled with a scowl, but Shikamaru ignored him.

Blowing out smoke as his answer. Shikamaru bent down and picked Hidan up with his hair while dragging his body to the hole by his ankle. Hidan cursed Shikamaru the whole way to the hole. This is probably going to be the end of him. How can his body be put together again if it was ashes?

"No stop!" Hidan yelled as Shikamaru threw his body and head into the hole.

Hidan hissed from pain when his head hit the wood. Shikamaru picked up the gasoline again and threw the last gasoline over Hidan's head and body, making him cough from the clear liquid that ran down his face.

"Goodbye Hidan." Shikamaru said with hate in his voice as he took the cigarette out his mouth and blew the last smoke out his mouth and lungs.

"Wait!" Hidan yelled, but it was too late.

Shikamaru flicked the cigarette out his hand, making it follow a slow descend towards Hidan. The cigarette fell in slow motion as both the men watched the cigarette intensely until finally, the cigarette made contact with the gasoline.

Shikamaru watched as Hidan roared in pain as his body burst into flames. Shikamaru watched as Hidan screamed in pain while the smell of burning flesh filled the air. Hidan's screams filled the silent forest, chasing all the deer and birds away.

Shikamaru watched Hidan's screams die down and his flesh turn to ash with the wood he was lying on. Hidan was no more, all that remained of him was his ashes.

Shikamaru tore his eyes away from the fire and picked the shovel back up again. He shovelled the ground back in its rightful place, making the fire groan as sparks flew.

The fire died as ground replaced the once warm flames. The sun was now making its slow descent towards the horizon in the late afternoon sky. Shikamaru took the empty gasoline container and the shovel and walked away.

Never looking back once.

Shikamaru's footsteps crunched in the snow as he walked back to civilisation and out the forest his clan owned. Shikamaru walked towards his mother's home for the second time today. He knew she was curious as to why he was lending such strange items from her.

She probably would've thought he murdered someone then buried the evidence if he wasn't too lazy for all that shit, but in some way, he did sort of bury a man. However, this hardly counted as murder.

Shikamaru knocked on his mother's door again. However this time she expecting him.

"Shikamaru, you're back." Yoshino said leaning against the door as she stepped out the way for Shikamaru to enter.

"I came to return your shovel. I'll buy some gasoline after I take a shower." Shikamaru said walking through the house while his mother followed him.

"Shikamaru?" Yoshino said as she stopped at the back door while Shikamaru placed the shovel back in the shed.

"Yes?" He answered.

"What did you need the gasoline and shovel for?" Yoshino asked staring at the back of Shikamaru's head.

"To keep Hidan down for good this time." Shikamaru said looking back at his mom.

The look he had on his face scared her, he didn't have his usual bored facial expression.

"The immortal man that was buried in our forest?" Yoshino asked.

"Yes." Shikamaru answered turning towards his mom and walking back towards the house.

"Why did you go through all this trouble to keep him buried if you could just have left him in a prison and forget about him?" Yoshino asked as Shikamaru stopped next to his mom in the doorway.

"Not only did he kill Asuma, he is the reason Temari is in a coma. He is someone I alone have to deal with and I will make sure he stays buried for as long as I live." Shikamaru answered grimly before he walked away leaving his mother at the doorway.

She turned her head just to see Shikamaru open the front door and leave her house she once shared with his father.

A house that was once full of life. A time where the lazy man she loved kept her company in the late summer days where the sky turned a beautiful red and the cold winter days where she would cuddle with him while drinking hot chocolate as they watched the snow fall silently together.

There was even a time where her son would wander the house just as lazily as his father. It didn't matter to her that there wasn't anyone running around brightly and energetically, the only thing that mattered to her was that there was life in the house. Her husband and son were in the house with her.

Now there was nobody with her inside that empty house. It was only her and deathly silence. She missed Shikaku. She never could've imagined life without him, but here she was. Standing alone in their house with her lonely thoughts while he is dead. The door clicked shut behind Shikamaru making Yoshino sigh and close the back door as well.

She leant her forehead on the cold surface of the door. Her husband is dead and her only son is being consumed by the shadows that he so masterfully wields.

"He's smoking again Shikaku..." Yoshino said softly to the empty house as she spoke to her dead husband.

He only smoked when he was under a lot of stress and pressure or when despair was threatening to consume him.

* * *

 **A/N: I personally like Hidan, he's cool and I like his scythe. I also like this chapter and I hope you like it as well.**

 **I just started watching 13 reasons why on netflix and it's sooo interesting, you should watch it...**

 **Anyway please vote and comment and I hope you liked the chapter!**


	37. THE DRINKING GAME

_**"I'll be here waiting. Hoping, praying that this light will guide you home. When you're feeling lost I'll leave my love, hidden in the sun for when the darkness comes." - When the darkness comes,**_ _ **Colbie**_ _ **Caillat**_

* * *

Shikamaru entered his apartment, the only light in the apartment was the late afternoon sunlight that rushed through the windows. Shikamaru walked towards his shower after closing his apartment door behind him. He closed the bathroom door and peeled out of his clothes. Shikamaru turned on the shower and let his hair down.

Strands of black hair fell across Shikamaru's face as he stepped in the shower. The warmth of the water seeped through his skin, quickly warming up his skin again. Shikamaru hung his head as the water rushed down his head and jet black hair.

Shikamaru's body felt numb as the warm comforting water rushed over his skin and enveloped him. It was hard thinking that Temari would stay asleep and only wake up in a long time. It was hard picturing her not roaming the streets and causing him trouble. Shooting that troublesome smirk his way each time she was being troublesome.

Shikamaru leant his forehead against the wall of his shower. It was hard thinking that he wouldn't see that beautiful teal eyes for a long time or be able to grab her by her waist and hold her close.

He couldn't take his mind of Temari. He wanted so badly for her to wake up. He wanted so badly to talk to her, even if she was going to yell at him or give him trouble, he just wanted to hear her voice.

Shikamaru rubbed his face, trying to rid his thoughts of Temari so he could stop spacing out. Shikamaru took his soap bar and rubbed it in his hands, making it soapy. He put the soap away and washed his face, trying to scrub Temari's blood from his face. The clear water slowly turned vivid red as the blood came of Shikamaru's face.

Shikamaru washed the soap off and lowered his head again. Watching the blood red water at his feet. Shikamaru's eyes went distant again as he watched the floor. However, after a few minutes, Shikamaru turned off the water and stepped outside of the shower, dripping with water.

Shikamaru took a towel and wrapped it around his waist. The coldness quickly returned to his skin, but he didn't care. Shikamaru opened the door, releasing the steam to wander his house and escape the bathroom. He stood in the doorway watching the floor. He was used to her staying at his place each time she visited from Suna.

And deep down inside he kind of expected Temari to throw an insulting comment at him any moment, but it never came. There was only silence.

It's hard going on without her.

Shikamaru lifted his head and walked down the hall towards his room. He dressed and tied his hair back up. Shikamaru stood in his room for a little while before he stuffed his hands in his pockets and left his apartment.

He locked the door behind him then walked back to the hospital. He walked in silence as his mind plundered to the thoughts and images he wishes he could dismiss. He was so in thought that he didn't realise that tenten was behind him.

"Shikamaru!" Tenten called out making Shikamaru jump slightly.

"Tenten?" Shikamaru said surprised as he turned around.

"What's up with you? I've been calling your name like five times with no respond." Tenten said catching up to him.

Tenten wore her hair in her usual two buns with black tight fitting pants and a long loose peach coloured shirt that hung over her large stomach. She had a brown coat over her shirt that tied above her stomach and peach colour gloves. It looked like her stomach would burst any second.

"Sorry, I've got a lot on my mind." Shikamaru said rubbing his neck sheepishly.

"So I've noticed. I'm heading to Icharuka for some ramen, do you want to join? You look hungry." Tenten asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

Shikamaru opened his mouth to decline until he felt his stomach rumble. He was hungrier than he thought, but to be honest he hadn't eaten anything today.

"Sure, but I'm only going to get a takeaway." Shikamaru said he was eager to get back to the hospital.

"I don't mind. So what's got you so deep in thought?" Tenten asked totally oblivious to what was going on.

"Haven't Lee told you what's happening?" Shikamaru asked with a raised eyebrow.

"About what?" She asked crossing her arms defensively.

"We found Hinata, Karui, Sakura and Temari." Shikamaru said making her gasp.

"And that son of a bitch didn't tell me anything!" Tenten exclaimed throwing her hands up in disbelief.

"No wonder he was like the only one in the village." Tenten said resting an arm on her giant belly.

"Yeah, it turned out that Hidan was behind it all." Shikamaru said shocking Tenten completely.

"I thought he was buried in your clan's forest." Tenten said.

"So did I, but he escaped." Shikamaru said with a sigh.

"Damn, I hate being left out of things..." Tenten mused.

"Everyone knows that you say it all the time. However this time you couldn't partake." Shikamaru said looking at her from the corner of his eyes.

"I know." Tenten sighed, but instead of her usual exaggerated look, she had a slight smile.

They entered the ramen shop and ordered their food. Shikamaru took a take away awhile Tenten decided to sit and eat in the shop.

"So how're the girls?" Tenten asked sitting down while Shikamaru leant against the wall.

"Karui have the least problems of them all, she only escaped with a few scrapes and bruises and probably some nightmares, but the rest weren't that lucky. Sakura became a delusional mess. Temari is in a coma and Hinata went into premature Labour." Shikamaru said.

"Are you serious?" Tenten asked shocked as she turned her eyes to Shikamaru.

"Yeah. Hinata gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Small, but healthy. His name is Baruto." Shikamaru said with a small smile.

"I definitely need to to pay Hinata a visit then." Tenten said smiling, she knew Hinata was only a week or two further than herself and the birth of their children would probably have been born a week apart if it wasn't for her going into premature labour.

"How're Sakura's delusions? Is it bad?" Tenten asked with a frown.

"She destroys everything every time she goes into her delusional state. However, Sasuke seems to be able to handle her in that state and calm her down." Shikamaru said making Tenten smirk mischievously.

"Of course he does." Tenten smirked amusedly.

"And Temari? Do you know how long she's going to be in a coma?" Tenten asked her face going serious again.

"No." Shikamaru said looking down.

"That's a shame." Tenten said sadly, but she wasn't that heartbroken.

After all, she killed the man Tenten loved and the father of her twins...

Just then their food arrived. The old man placed Tenten's bowl in front of her and gave Shikamaru a bag with his food in it.

"When's the due date?" Shikamaru asked taking the bag from the old man with a thanks.

"In two weeks." Tenten smiled.

"I have to go, I'll see you around Tenten." Shikamaru said walking away with his food.

"Bye Shikamaru." Tenten said eating her food.

Shikamaru walked towards the hospital with his food in hand. He walked through the hospital silently as people rushed passed him. The hospital was full of people running around and life. He seemed so dull next to all the people in the hospital. Sakura long since went home with Sasuke in tow, no surprise there.

She felt worried about her delusional state where she would destroy everything and Sasuke missed her more than he was willing to admit.

Shikamaru entered the open door to the empty room. All the beds in the room were empty, all except one bed. In that one bed laid Temari no Sabaku of the sand siblings. Exactly the same as when he left her this morning. Her loose blond hair was strewn across the pillow next to her face while her eyes remained closed.

Her heart beat remained constant and her body never stirred once. Sakura switched her dirty clothes to a clean white hospital gown. Sakura also placed two hospital bracelets on her right wrist that states why she was in the hospital. Her breathing stayed constant as she continued sleeping.

Shikamaru slouched in his chair as he opened the bag and took out his ramen. His eyes shifted from Temari to the window. His eyes watching the cerulean blue sky. He ate his food slowly as his eyes wandered far away.

He stayed by Temari's side until nightfall came. However, even when the darkness filled the room he didn't move. He didn't move to switch the light on and he also didn't move to go home. Shikamaru didn't smoke once when he was in the room Temari slept because he knew she hated the smoke. He only stared at Asuma's lighter.

He knew she wouldn't know he was smoking while she laid there sleeping, but it didn't matter to Shikamaru. Shikamaru sat in the dark as his eyes grew heavier. He didn't realise how tired he was up until now...

Shikamaru sighed and closed his eyes. Only for a second. However, his body had other plans. His eyes remained closed as sleep took him over. His mind slipping into darkness as it slowly drifted like a cloud to a world where everything was perfect.

A world where the sun shone and made you feel warm and safe. Where everyone was happy and alive. Where his father was still alive and lived with his mother in that empty house. Where Asuma was there to see his daughter grow up into a fine shinobi. Where Neji was alive to see his twins and nephew get born. A world where Temari was awake...

 **xXx**

Temari scowled as her eyes saw the image of those blasted Sakura petals again. She tried running away from the tree, but no matter how fast she ran she couldn't get away and no matter how far she ran, she always ended back at the Sakura tree.

She knew she'd wake up if she just found a way to get away from that damn Sakura tree. She knew there had to be a way to get away...

A trick she didn't know about.

A cruel trick nobody cared to tell her.

However nobody was there to tell her anyway, she was all alone in this empty world. Temari scowled again as she panted. It felt like she's been running for days without stop. She sat down on the bench under the tree and tilted her head up.

Panting from exhaustion. There had to be a way to escape.

She just didn't know how to escape...

How to wake up...

 **xXx**

"Shikamaru..." A male voice drifted through Shikamaru's dream, pulling him from his perfect lazy world.

"Shikamaru..." the voice said again making Shikamaru grunt as he slowly woke up.

"Come on Shikamaru... just wake up already..." the voice whined as he started pushing and poking him, irritating Shikamaru until he sighed exaggerated and opened an eye to see blond spiky hair.

"What do you want Naruto?" Shikamaru asked with a sigh.

"I just want to inform you that Gaara has been informed that we found Temari and about her condition." Naruto said.

"What did he say?" Shikamaru asked with crossed arms as he watched Temari.

"We haven't got a reply back yet." Naruto said while Shikamaru stayed silent.

"Come with me to get something to eat, Shikamaru." Naruto said behind Shikamaru.

Shikamaru didn't answer, he just continued sitting in his chair.

"If you don't, I'll drag you to the ramen shop kicking and screaming." Naruto said making Shikamaru snort.

"Yeah, cause you'll see me, the laziest man in Konoha, putting in enough energy to kick and scream." Shikamaru answered with a scoff.

"Okay maybe not kicking and screaming, but I will drag you there." Naruto said grinning.

"Troublesome Hokage, fine I'll go." Shikamaru said with a sigh as he stood up and shoved his hands in his pockets.

Shikamaru hesitated as he took a final look at Temari before he turned around and walked out the room with Naruto. Shikamaru took a last glance at Temari before he left. They walked through the halls in silence as thoughts floated in their minds. Shikamaru stopped outside the exit of the hospital and looked at the sky. It was getting warmer by the day. The sky was cloudless again and the town's people seemed happy.

He looked out of place beside them...

Shikamaru closed his eyes with a sigh as he tilted his head up so the sun could warm his skin. The village was moving on and leaving Temari behind again. She was gone for two years before then she disappeared for three months. How long will she be gone this time?

"You coming?" Naruto asked looking back at Shikamaru with his hands on his hips.

"Yeah, I'm coming." Shikamaru said opening his eyes and lowering his head as he followed Naruto with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"How's Hinata?" Shikamaru asked.

"She's doing great, she'll be released in two days." Naruto said with a smile.

"And Baruto?" Shikamaru asked which made Naruto grin.

"He's just as good. He's going to grow up to be just as strong as his mother." Naruto said proudly.

"Don't forget to add yourself." Shikamaru said giving him a ghost of a smile while Naruto scratched the back of his head.

"Shikamaru?" Naruto asked abruptly, getting serious.

"What is it?" Shikamaru asked.

"How are you?" Naruto asked.

"I could be better... it's just..." Shikamaru trailed off while looking at the ground.

"It's just what?" Naruto asked, encouraging Shikamaru to go on.

"She hasn't been in a coma for more than three days and I already miss her more than I can bare." Shikamaru said in barely a whisper making Naruto frown.

"Are you going to be okay?" Naruto asked stopping in front of the ramen shop.

"I will be." Shikamaru said softly.

Naruto's eyes saddened as he turned and entered his favourite ramen shop with Shikamaru following him.

"If it isn't my favourite costumer and Shikamaru!" Old man Teuchi exclaimed while Ayame smiled as they entered.

"Hey old man!" Naruto grinned as he sat down while Shikamaru sat down calmly next to him.

"What can I get you guys?" Teuchi asked while smiling widely.

"The usual." Naruto said grinning just as widely.

"How about you Shikamaru?" The old man asked looking at Shikamaru.

"Actually, I'm not really in the mood~" Shikamaru started, but got interrupted by Naruto.

"He'll have the same as me." Naruto interrupted as he ordered for Shikamaru since he knew Shikamaru wasn't going to get himself anything.

"That's what I want to hear!" The old man laughed while Shikamaru just sighed.

"Fine, whatever." Shikamaru said with half a smile.

"When will you return to the office again?" Shikamaru asked even though his mind was far away.

"It's always about work with you. Come on Shikamaru loosen up a bit." Naruto said smacking him on the back which Shikamaru did not appreciate at all.

"Look who's here! Naruto you got Shikamaru to go somewhere!" A loud female voice exclaimed behind them making Shikamaru sigh, not turning around to see who it was because he already knew who it was.

"Ino, Sakura, Tenten." Naruto smiled as he turned around to greet them.

The girls sat in the seats next to them and ordered what they wanted.

"Hey, where's Sasuke?" Naruto asked Sakura.

"I don't know, I don't keep tabs on him wherever he goes. He left the house earlier." Sakura said with a sigh.

"Sasuke's living with you!" Tenten exclaimed shocked, almost falling out of her chair.

"Oh honey, you're seriously behind on stuff..." Ino said with a chuckle.

"I'm right here, in case you're wondering Sakura..." Sasuke said grumpily as he entered the restaurant.

"Sasuke!" Naruto and Sakura exclaimed simultaneously.

"What are you doing here?" Shikamaru asked confused, he knew this wasn't Sasuke's scene so why was he here?

"Good question." Kiba laughed as he entered after Sasuke followed by Shino, Chouji, Lee and Sai.

"We all wanted to go and eat someplace, but Sasuke didn't want to come sooooooo..." Chouji started while munching his chips.

"We dragged him here..." Shino finished bluntly making Sasuke growl in annoyance which made Naruto snort from laughter.

"You're telling me the mighty Sasuke Uchiha got dragged somewhere." Naruto said laughing while Sasuke glared at him.

"Shut up, idiot!" Sasuke said annoyed.

"Make me ass hole!" Naruto exclaimed angrily as Naruto stood up, ready for a fight.

"Stop it!" Sakura exclaimed angrily turning her glare to them which made the two men stop fighting immediately.

"Kiba, what are you doing?" Teuchi asked pointing at Kiba's doppelganger.

"That's my twin." Kiba chuckled awkwardly.

"Kiba you've been coming here since you were in the academy, I know that's Akamaru..." The old man said sighing.

"Please don't kick him out, he's a well-trained dog and he'll behave." Kiba pleaded.

"Fine... The dog can stay." The old man said with another sigh.

"Yes!" Kiba exclaimed releasing Akamaru's transformation.

The old man smiled slightly.

"What are you smiling about?" Naruto asked curiously.

"It's been a while since I saw all of you together again..." The old man smiled making the rest of the group smile sadly except Shikamaru, Sasuke, Shino and tenten who didn't bother smiling.

"You're right, we're all back together." Naruto said with half a smile while Tenten simply just looked at the ground sadly.

"Neji and Hinata is missing though." Ayame added.

"Indeed. It's a shame that Neji died, he was a splendid man. But where is Hinata?" Teuchi asked.

"She's in the hospital." Naruto answered making the old man adopt a worried face.

"What happened? Is she alright?" He asked worryingly.

"She gave birth to our son and she's doing great." Naruto grinned surprising Teuchi and Ayame.

The old man nearly fell to the ground in surprise.

"Hinata was pregnant! And you're a father!" The old man exclaimed still in shock.

"When did this happen?" The old man asked baffled.

"Approximately nine months ago..." Naruto answered making the group stare at him.

"That's a big word from a moron." Sasuke said which made Naruto's eyebrow twitch.

"You want to say that again?" Naruto asked turning around to glare at Sasuke who stood behind him.

"Okay, that's enough." Sakura said with a warning in her eyes that made them stop.

They didn't want to unleash the wrath of Sakura...

"Here's an idea let's pull all the tables outside together so that we all have somewhere to sit, I'm getting tired of standing." Kiba whined.

"What a youthful idea." Lee exclaimed as everyone stood up.

"Just remember to put them back how you found them before you leave." The old man called as they headed outside.

Everyone helped pull the tables together so it formed one giant table except Tenten since she was heavily pregnant. It was colder outside than inside, but at least they'll all be sitting together...

It's been a long time since they all sat together and ate peacefully. It's just a shame Hinata wasn't here though and it saddened everyone that Neji would never sit and eat with them again. Shikamaru's mind, however, was also plagued by the fact that Temari was in a coma.

"You guys should go order some food." Ino said leaning her head on her open palm.

"Good idea." Kiba said as he jumped up and went back inside followed by the guys that arrived with him to order some food.

They waited for the rest of the group who ordered to come back so they could continue the conversation.

"Only Sasuke, sakura and Shikamaru knew about the baby already being born, so how did all you know?" Naruto asked curiously, he noticed how nobody reacted to the news except the old man and Ayame.

"I told Tenten." Shikamaru said lazily.

"And I told Ino." Tenten shrugged.

"Oh, I see now." Naruto laughed while the boys nodded, they all heard the news from Ino.

"I've got an amazing idea." Kiba suddenly said as he perked up.

"It's probably not a good idea." Shino said bluntly.

"Shut up Shino!" Kiba exclaimed angrily.

"Okay guys come get your food, I don't have enough hands to bring it to you!" The old man called from inside.

"Alright!" Naruto and Chouji exclaimed happily as they rushed to the counter while everyone walked like civil people to their food.

Everyone got their food then sat back down outside, said thanks for the food then ate.

"You haven't told us your amazing plan yet Kiba." Naruto said as he looked up at Kiba again.

"We should have a drinking game tonight!" Kiba said with a smug grin.

"I feel like that's a bad idea." Shikamaru said with crossed arms.

"What a youthful idea!" Lee exclaimed.

"You're not drinking Lee, I'm not going through that again while I'm pregnant. Besides Kiba, I can't drink." Tenten said bluntly making Lee sulk in a corner.

"You can drink water or something..." Kiba said waving her off which made Tenten roll her eyes.

"Well, I think this is a brilliant idea." Ino grinned enthusiastically.

"Thank you Ino." Kiba grinned.

"Ino, do you really think this is a good idea?" Sai asked with a sweat drop.

"Of course." Ino exclaimed with a grin.

"Let's vote on it! Who says we should have a drinking game?" Ino asked putting her hand in the air along with Kiba, Naruto, Sakura and Lee.

"You're not allowed to vote Lee, put your hand down." Tenten said with crossed arms which made lee sulk in the corner again.

Ino looked around and saw she still needed one person so she took Sai's arm and put his hand in the air.

"There, it's settled. We're having a drinking game tonight! Be there." Ino exclaimed glaring at everyone at the table at the last part.

"Ino, I didn't want to put my hand up." Sai said.

"It still counts!" Ino exclaimed making Sai sigh.

Shikamaru glared at Naruto with crossed arms, indicating that he does not approve.

"Your Hokage, Naruto." Shikamaru added to remind Naruto.

"And I'm well aware of that... A Hokage can have fun every now and then." Naruto said with a grin while Shikamaru sighed.

Sasuke stared at Sakura like he was almost disappointed in her for sticking up her hand.

"What? Why wouldn't I participate when I know I'll win all their sorry asses." Sakura smirked confidently as she looked at Ino.

"Excuse me?" Ino and Kiba said simultaneously which made the whole group sigh.

"You think you can take me on billboard brow?" Ino asked standing up.

"Anytime, Ino pig." Sakura replied standing up as well.

"Ino, please calm down and sit back down." Sai asked politely while tugging slightly on her arm which made her sit down.

"Sakura, sit down and calm down." Sasuke said making Sakura sit back down.

"I have to get back to the flower shop, I'll see you guys tonight." Ino said after everyone finished eating.

She stood up with Sai to pay for their food then left, the rest of their group following suit. However Naruto, Sakura and Shikamaru walked back to the hospital together while the others went who knew where.

 **xXx**

Temari growled as she stared at the Sakura tree, this was beyond frustrating. She couldn't outrun the damn tree and she couldn't take it down cause she had no kunai or her fan. Why couldn't she get away? Why did she always come back to this tree? Why did this simple tree haunt her...

How could she get away?

 **xXx**

"Let's go Shikamaru! It's time..." Naruto screamed loudly from down the hall which made Shikamaru sigh.

Shikamaru currently sat in the chair next to Temari's bed while he watched the sun go down through the window. Naruto was in the hospital to spend some time with Hinata and his new baby boy. Naruto skidded to a stop in front of the door while Shikamaru turned his head back towards Naruto.

"You're way too excited for this." Shikamaru said with a sweatdrop.

"I just like party's." Naruto shrugged as he came into the room.

"This isn't a party Naruto, this is a drinking game. Besides, it was Kiba's idea, I've realised through the years that his ideas are never good ideas..." A small female voice said as she came in the room after Naruto.

"Hinata... I thought you were only released tomorrow..." Shikamaru asked as he watched Hinata.

She wore tight fitting light brown pants with an oversized purple jacket and her knee length shinobi sandals. Shikamaru saw a few bruises on her neck that her clothes didn't cover. He assumed that there were more that her clothes covered...

"Naruto convinced Sakura to release me early so I can come with you guys." Hinata said with a smile.

"By convincing, do you mean annoy her until she agrees by any chance?" Shikamaru asked making Hinata nod.

"Hinata..." Naruto whined making Hinata giggle.

"Congratulations on the baby, Hinata. I'm glad you and Boruto are okay." Shikamaru said.

"Temari played a big part in keeping us safe, I'd probably be buried under rubble right now if it wasn't for her. I'm sorry about what happened to her, she didn't deserve it." Hinata said sadly as she looked at the ground while Naruto wrapped his arms around her to make her feel better.

"It's not your fault, let's go." Shikamaru said standing up, he might as well use that to change the subject because he knew Naruto would drag him away anyway.

Shikamaru looked at Temari for a while before he turned around and walked to Naruto and Hinata who nodded. They walked together to the exit of the hospital so they could go to the bar. The cold hit their face once they reached outside. Naruto noticed Hinata shivering as they walked outside in the cold. Naruto smiled as he took his red scarf from his neck and wrapped it around Hinata's neck to keep her warm from the nights cold.

She looked up at him and smiled as they silently walked to the bar. Once they were close to the bar Naruto jogged ahead of Hinata and Shikamaru and burst through the entrance dramatically.

"Alright! Let the games begin!" Naruto exclaimed loudly making Hinata giggle and Shikamaru to sigh.

"What about Shikamaru?" Shikamaru heard Kiba ask.

"I'm right here." Shikamaru said as he entered the bar with Hinata.

"Yeah! Now we can start!" Kiba exclaimed turning his head to look at Shikamaru, however, his eyes landed on Hinata instead.

"Hinata! You got released from the hospital." Kiba jumped up happily as he went over to give Hinata a bear hug while Shino just stood behind them.

"I'm glad Sakura released you from the hospital." Shino said monotonously.

"Why did you release her earlier, Sakura?" Tenten asked as everyone settled down and took a seat around the massive table.

Sakura sat in the middle of Sasuke and Naruto, mostly to keep them from fighting, while Hinata sat next to Naruto. Kiba sat next to Hinata while Shino sat next to him and Lee sat next to Shino while Tenten sat next to him. Ino sat next Tenten and Sai sat next to her. Chouji sat next to Sai while Shikamaru sat between Chouji and Sasuke.

"Becuase Naruto irritated me until I said yes." Sakura answered Tenten's question with a sigh.

"Sounds just about right." Tenten said chuckling.

"Hi, I'll be your waiter tonight. What can I get you bunch?" A friendly young woman smiled as she held her order book.

"Shots, lots of shots!" Naruto exclaimed as she nodded and left.

"This is a bad idea..." Sasuke said with an exaggerated sigh.

"Come on Sasuke, what's the worst that can happen?" Naruto said laughing, but Sasuke only sighed. 

* * *

**A/N: Omg this chapter is finally finished! I'm so sorry I took so long I really had a** **loooot** **of work I had to do. It was just assignments upon assignment and tests upon test (yet I still missed my deadline for one assignment).**

 **Plus I really had a bad writer's block in the beginning of the chapter, but I'm chilled for now. Anyway, I put two little passages in the story of what is going on in** **Temari's** **mind :P**

 **I hope you like the chapter and please leave a comment :) and to make up for me not updating, I'm posting another chapter in a few hours!**


	38. THE MORNING AFTER

_**"I used to like liquor to get me inspired. But you look so beautiful, my new supplier. I used to like smoking to stop all the thinking.**_  
 _ **But I found a different buzz." - High enough, K. Flay**_.

* * *

Light streamed around Shikamaru and rested on his face, warming his cold face. Shikamaru slowly started waking up as he felt something damp trailing along his face.

"Kankurou stop drawing on his face." A monotonous voice said.

"What?" Shikamaru asked confused, his eyes still closed as a searing headache formed in his head causing him to groan softly.

"Look Gaara, he's waking up." Kankurou said amused.

"I'm aware." Gaara said without any emotion at all.

Shikamaru frowned as he opened his eyes slightly from confusion. He couldn't fully open his eyes due to the hangover he had. However, when he opened his eyes, he stared straight into Kankurou's purple face.

"What the fuck!" Shikamaru exclaimed now wide awake as he sat up and pulled away.

However, when Shikamaru leant back he found nothing to rest his back on, causing him to fall out whatever he was sleeping in. Shikamaru scowled as he hit the ground hard.

"Did I just fall out a tree?" Shikamaru asked as he looked up at the leafless branches above him.

"Yes, you did." Gaara said bluntly while Kankurou laughed as they jumped out the tree.

"Where am I?" Shikamaru asked confused as he sat up and clutched his head.

"Outside Konoha on the main road to Konoha." Gaara replied.

"What? How the hell did I get here?" Shikamaru asked confused looking up at Gaara and Kankurou.

"You tell us. However Shikamaru, there's a much more important question you should ask..." Kankurou said stifling his laughter.

"And what is that, Kankurou?" Shikamaru asked irritated.

"Where the hell is your shirt?" Kankurou said rolling from laughter.

"What?" Shikamaru asked confused as he looked down.

He had indeed no shirt on and now that he realised it, he was freezing.

"Plus Kankurou painted on your face, you now look like him." Gaara said making Shikamaru's eyebrow twitch.

"What the fuck Kankurou." Shikamaru said annoyed.

"You carry face paint with you?" Kiba asked making everyone turn to him while Kankurou just shrugged.

"Where did you come from?" Shikamaru asked.

"From the Bush over there. You guys woke me up when you fell out the tree." Kiba said stifling a yawn.

"Dude, what happened to your shirt?" Kiba asked confused.

"I don't know. You were with me." Shikamaru said with a sigh.

"What happened to your face?" Kiba asked amused as he pointed at Shikamaru's new purple face paint.

"Kankurou happened." Shikamaru said exaggerated as he rubbed his temples.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. You'll smudge the face paint and look like a bigger dumbass." Kankurou pointed out.

"Now you know how you look every day..." Shikamaru shot back.

"At least I have a shirt on..." Kankurou replied with a smirk.

"You're missing your shoes as well." Gaara pointed out.

"Dammit! Where did all my clothes go?" Shikamaru said cursing.

"You're like a stripper." Kiba said as he and Kankurou laughed.

"Shut up Kiba!" Shikamaru exclaimed annoyed as he stood up.

"Let's go, you too Shikamaru." Gaara said as he started walking.

"But what about my clothes, I'm freezing. Plus I look like a clown." Shikamaru groaned.

"You can go home afterwards..." Gaara said making Shikamaru sigh and follow.

"Wait, give me a minute." Kiba said as he turned green.

Kiba rushed over to the bush and emptied his stomach. After he was done he regrouped with Gaara, Kankurou and Shikamaru.

"Feeling better?" Shikamaru asked.

"Actually, I do feel better..." Kiba answered with a smirk.

"Nobody said you should come, maybe you should go home." Kankurou suggested.

"Nah, I want to see Shikamaru walk around the village like a stripper clown." Kiba said making Shikamaru sigh exaggerated as they walked to Naruto's office.

 **xXx**

Ino slowly opened her eyes as the sun shined on her face. She looked around as she blinked slowly. How did she wind up in Sai's bedroom? Plus where the hell was all her clothes? And where is Sai?

This was his apartment after all.

"Oh, you're awake. How are you feeling?" Sai asked as he came in shirtless.

Ino's eyes drifted to his toned upper body as he came in. He only wore his usual pants as he walked towards her.

"Now that you mention it... I'm extremely nauseous with a pounding headache." Ino said holding her head as she sat up and used the sheets to cover herself.

"Oh wait, here it comes." Ino said as she grabbed the sheet and ran to the bathroom, pulling the sheets with her.

She threw up in the bathroom while Sai followed to hold her hair for her. After she was done Sai sat down and pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Sai..." Ino said.

"Yes, Ino?" Sai asked.

"What happened last night?" Ino asked holding her head.

"We drank, we got drunk, we left the group then came here and I'm sure you can connect the dots from there..." Sai said with a smile.

"Oh." Was the only thing Ino said making Sai chuckled at her reaction.

 **xXx**

Shikamaru knocked on Naruto's office door, but they received no answer. Shikamaru tested the knob to see if it was locked or not and to his surprise, it was not locked. Shikamaru opened the door slowly and walked in with the group behind him.

In that moment Shikamaru realised two things...

First, his shirt was on the roof light. Secondly, Chouji was sleeping on the desk.

"My shirt!" Shikamaru said happily as he jumped towards the light to grab his shirt.

He pulled it over his head and embraced the warmth his long sleeve shirt provided.

"Dude, why was your shirt on the light?" Kiba asked confused.

"I don't know." Shikamaru answered.

"Why is Chouji on the desk?" Kankurou asked confused looking at Kiba and Shikamaru who shrugged.

Papers were scattered everywhere on the floor making Shikamaru depressed because he knew he'd have to pick them all up and sort them again later.

"Where's Naruto?" Gaara asked looking at Shikamaru.

"I have no idea, maybe Chouji would know." Shikamaru said as he walked over to Chouji.

Shikamaru nudged Chouji until he woke up, confused and disoriented.

"What happened to your face? Why am I on a desk? Where are your shoes and flak jacket? Why am I in Naruto's office " Chouji asked confused.

"Kankurou drew on Shikamaru's face. We don't know. Shikamaru is a stripper when he's drunk. We don't know." Kiba answered on his fingers making Shikamaru glare at him.

"Chouji, where's Naruto?" Shikamaru asked.

"Just because I'm in his office doesn't mean I know where he is..." Chouji said.

"Shikamaru, what happened last night?" Gaara asked with folded arms as he looked at a nervous Shikamaru.

"We had a drinking game last night and after that, things turned a little hazy..." Shikamaru said rubbing the back of his neck.

"So you were all in a group once upon a time?" Kankurou asked.

"Yes, then we sort of left members of the party behind. Chouji being an example of that..." Shikamaru said with a sigh.

"What happened to Naruto then?" Gaara asked.

"We may or may not have lost him somewhere in the village." Shikamaru chuckled awkwardly.

"Then let's go find him." Gaara said turning to the door.

"Can't I just at least wash my face first?" Shikamaru asked exaggerated.

"You can wash it if we walk past a tap." Gaara said leaving as the group followed.

"Where are we going?" Chouji asked as he followed the group.

"To Naruto's apartment." Shikamaru answered.

It's the most likely place he'll be. The group walked silently towards his apartment and knocked on the door as they arrived, however, there was no answer and the door was locked. Shikamaru sighed as he stepped backwards.

"This is troublesome." Shikamaru said exaggerated.

Gaara silently stepped forward as sand flew from his gourd and into the lock. Gaara picked the lock with his sand until he heard a click and the door creaked open.

"You know how to pick a lock?" Shikamaru asked surprised.

"Yes." Gaara said bluntly as he stepped into the apartment.

"Finally, something I can wash my face with." Shikamaru said relieved as he entered the apartment, knowing the apartment has a sink with water.

"Not now Shikamaru." Gaara said as they explored the apartment.

"What, why?" Shikamaru asked irritated.

"Because we're leaving, he's not here." Gaara said as he left with the group following him.

"You're enjoying this." Shikamaru said glaring at the back of Gaara's head.

"What makes you say that?" Gaara said in a monotone, but a small smile played on his lips which no one saw except Kankurou because he was walking next to him.

"Where now?" Kiba asked.

"There were only three people there that didn't drink. Hinata, Tenten and Lee. One of them is bound to know where Naruto is. Most likely Hinata since she just gave birth to his child." Shikamaru reasoned.

"Oh, Hinata gave birth?" Gaara asked.

"Yes, two days ago." Shikamaru answered as they walked to the Hyuga mansion.

They walked to the Hyuga mansion in silence due to Shikamaru and Kiba's killer headache. They arrived at the doorstep of the Hyuga mansion and knocked on the door. A man answered the door and looked Shikamaru over with a concerned frown.

"Are you lost?" The man asked making Kankurou and Kiba try and stifle their laughter.

"No, I'm looking for Hinata." Shikamaru said annoyed.

"I'll call her for you, please stay here." The man said looking over Shikamaru once more before leaving to get Hinata.

A few minutes passed before Hinata appeared, slightly startled by Shikamaru's appearance, she stood by the door and looked Shikamaru over with a confused frown, but she didn't ask why he looked that way.

"Hinata we need you to tell us what happened last night." Shikamaru asked slight desperation in his voice.

He really wanted to wash his face.

"Uhm okay. You were all taking shots except Lee, Tenten took them away from Lee and gave them to either Shino or Ino. This went on until Shino passed out~" Hinata said until Kiba interrupted her.

"So Shino lost the drinking game?" Kiba asked seriously, it was really an important piece of information to Kiba.

"Actually no. Naruto did. He was the first one to pass out. After he passed out ino and Sai left. Tenten and I stayed until Shino passed out. After he passed out Lee carried him home with Tenten while Naruto woke up to walk me home. After I was home Naruto said he was heading back to the bar because he had to win Sasuke." Hinata said.

"But he already lost..." Shikamaru pointed out.

"I know and I told him that, but he wouldn't listen. Why are asking what happened Shikamaru?" Hinata asked curiously.

"We sort of lost Naruto. We have no idea where he is..." Shikamaru said scratching the back of his head.

"You lost Naruto..." Hinata asked in disbelief.

"Yep, they lost your boyfriend and the father of your child. Congratulations by the way." Kankurou said amused.

"Not helping Kankurou." Shikamaru said not looking back at him.

"We should go find him." Hinata said worriedly.

"However Shikamaru... Let's stop by your apartment first, you look ridiculous." Hinata said pointing at his face as she closed the door behind her.

"Thank you." Shikamaru said exaggerated as he took the lead to his apartment.

 **xXx**

Sakura sighed as she slowly woke up. She didn't bother opening her eyes or moving the hair that fell in front of her face away, she was too comfortable for that plus she didn't want to wake up. She was nuzzled into something warm while an arm was wrapped securely around her waist making her feel safe.

"Sakura..." the voice she adored whispered, however she didn't answer.

She didn't want to wake up.

"Sakura, wake up." The voice said again.

However, this was when realization hit her. Sakura's eyes shot open, looking straight into Sasuke's chest. Her eyes trailed up until her eyes met Sasuke's. She blinked a few times then exclaimed from surprise as she fell off the couch they were sleeping on.

"What is happening?" Sakura yelled confused from the ground as Sasuke sat up.

Sakura looked at Sasuke for answers, but he remained silent. However, this was when she realised what he was wearing.

"What are you wearing?" Sakura asked confused as she looked at the black suit that fitted him perfectly.

She would've gushed over how handsome he looked if she wasn't so confused about what was going on.

"A suit Sakura. What are you wearing?" Sasuke said already knowing the answer but wanted her attention to go to what she was wearing because she hadn't realised what she was wearing yet.

Sakura looked down and stared at the white mermaid style dress she was wearing. She blinked several times at the dress until the memories of what happened flooded into her mind along with a mild headache.

"I think we got married." Sasuke said in a serious voice.

"I think your right." Sakura said blankly.

"Sasuke..." Sakura said.

"Yes, Sakura?" Sasuke asked looking at her.

He couldn't deny that she looked beautiful in that dress.

"This isn't my apartment..." Sakura said looking up at him.

"If we're not in your apartment, then in whose apartment are we?" Sasuke asked, slight panic in his eyes.

"I don't know, let's go before we find out who lives here." Sakura said.

"Good idea." Sasuke said as they both jumped up to gather their things.

"Where are our normal clothes?" Sasuke scowled, he didn't even want to imagine what'll happen if someone they knew saw them like this, especially Ino or Naruto...

"I don't know, have you seen my shoes?" Sakura asked looking around.

"Leave them, let's just go." Sasuke said walking towards the door.

"Wait Sasuke..." Sakura exclaimed softly.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked annoyed as he turned around to see her ogle at a ring that was on her finger.

"Where did we get these rings? All the jewellery shops were closed that time of night." Sakura said, dreading the answer.

"We probably stole them." Sasuke said bluntly.

"You're a bad influence!" Sakura whisper yelled at him, she didn't want the owner of the apartment to find them.

"I don't care, now let's go!" Sasuke said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her to the door.

Sasuke quickly pulled open the door coming face to face with a purple face-painted clown that resembled Shikamaru a lot. Sasuke scowled as he saw the group in front of him. They all stared at him and Sakura with shock, not saying or doing anything except blink.

"What's wrong with your face?" Sakura asked breaking the silence.

"That's not the most important question here." Kankurou said still stunned.

"What the fuck are you two doing in my apartment?" Shikamaru asked confused.

"You invited us in, come to think of it." Sakura said now remembering who the apartment belonged to.

"What are you wearing sakura?" Hinata asked, wanting to confirm her suspension.

"A wedding dress." Sakura said bluntly, making Hinata smile happily.

"Why?" Kiba asked, his mind too sore to connect the dots.

"Haven't you noticed, we got married." Sasuke said exaggerated, holding his left hand up to show them the ring he now had on his ring finger.

Kankurou spit out the imaginary water he had not been drinking, Kiba fell over from surprise, Chouji cocked on the chips he was munching, Shikamaru's eyes widened in disbelieve even though he connected the dots the moment he opened the door while Hinata congratulated them happily.

"You were right Kankurou..." Gaara said out of the blue.

"About what?" Kankurou asked as he recovered from his shock.

"About leaving Suna earlier." Gaara said with a small amused smile.

He never knew that leaving his home to see his older sister earlier can cause him such amusement.

"See I told you, little brother." Kankurou said smugly.

"You stole those rings, didn't you?" Shikamaru asked Sasuke, recovering from his initial shock.

"Naruto will confirm that soon enough." Sasuke answered.

"Who married you?" Gaara asked curiously.

"Naruto." Sasuke replied bluntly.

"He can do that?" Kankurou asked surprised.

"He's the Hokage, what can't he do?" Shikamaru said exaggerated.

"You don't seem to be as hangover as the other people we gathered..." Kankurou noted.

"That's because I won the drinking game and Sakura was second." Sasuke answered with a smug smirk.

"Let's get back to the point, do you two know where's Naruto? He's missing." Gaara asked.

"Naruto's missing?" Sakura asked concerned.

"Yes, we lost him last night. That's why we need one of you to tell us what happened after Hinata left." Shikamaru said.

"After Hinata left Naruto came back and we drank some more. Then for some odd reason, he suggested Sasuke and I should get married which we agreed upon. So we all went to a chapel, which we broke into, and Naruto married us. After that Chouji suggested we should have a barbeque then Sasuke said we should barbeque one of the giant snakes in the forest of death. Naruto then told Chouji to get more booze in his office~" Sakura said until Hinata interrupted her, which was quite out of character for her.

"Why is there booze in his office?" Hinata asked with a frown.

"Lady Tsunade stashed it there." Sakura said bluntly.

"Is the forest of death the forest we had to survive in when we participated in the chunin exams?" Kankurou asked.

"That's the one. Anyway so Chouji left the group to go to Naruto's office then Sasuke and I wanted to change so Shikamaru let us go to his apartment since it was the closest. Shikamaru just left us there so I guess we fell asleep." Sakura said with a shrug.

"So that means Naruto, Kiba and I went to the forest of death." Shikamaru mused.

"So we should search the forest of death. But first wash your face Shikamaru, it's distracting..." Gaara said while everybody nodded in agreement.

"Finally." Shikamaru said relieved as he went inside to wash his face and get some shoes.

"I still want to know what happened to Shikamaru's face." Sakura said as she and Sasuke joined the group.

"Kankurou and I were on our way to the village when we found him in a tree then Kankurou decided to draw on his face." Gaara said with crossed arms.

"How did he wind up outside the village?" Sakura asked confused.

"Neither he nor Kiba knew." Gaara replied.

"Was Kiba in the tree as well?" Sakura asked amused.

"No, we found Kiba in a bush across the road from the tree." Gaara answered making Sakura burst out laughing.

"Hey, I found my flak jacket." Shikamaru called happily from inside.

"What?" Sakura asked confused.

"Shikamaru is a stripper when he's drunk." Kiba said amused.

"I told you the drinking game was a bad idea." Sasuke said to Sakura.

"I'm not apologising." Sakura shot back with crossed arms.

"Okay let's go." Shikamaru said as he regrouped with the group while locking his apartment door behind him.

The group walked to the forest of death to search for Naruto in silence. It was now well into the afternoon and Gaara had still not had the chance to talk to Naruto because he was still missing. The group finally reached the forest of death and stood in front of the gates that said no entry.

"Why do they call it the forest of death if this forest isn't even so life threatening?" Kankurou asked casually.

"That's because you had a Gaara, we nearly lost our lives in there." Shikamaru grumbled.

"We're wasting time, let's go." Gaara said, he knew it was futile splitting up because they had nothing to notify each other if they found Naruto.

They walked through the forest for hours, searching for Naruto. But they couldn't find him which made Hinata more worried by the minute. However, after another hour, they found a giant dead snake.

"I guess we found the snake we wanted to barbeque." Kiba shrugged.

"Yeah, but where's Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"He's not here." Shikamaru sighed.

"But if he's not here, where is he?" Chouji asked, saying something for the first time since they found him in the office.

"What did you three do when we left?" Sakura asked still in the wedding dress.

"It's all hazy but I think after we killed the snake Naruto said we needed booze while we were barbequing and Chouji was taking too long... That's it!" Shikamaru said, the clouds in his mind finally parting.

"What?" Sakura asked confused.

"Naruto is still at the bar! He went back to get more booze while we watched over the snake and must've passed out there." Shikamaru said.

"But if you and Kiba were suppose to watch the snake, why did we found you two outside the village?" Kankurou asked confused.

"We went to look for Naruto because he took too long... Then we got lost and passed out outside the village." Shikamaru said awkwardly.

"You got lost in the village you were raised in?" Sakura asked baffled.

"Yep." Shikamaru said while everyone sweat dropped except Gaara and Sasuke.

"Maybe we shouldn't have a drinking game next time." Chouji suggested while everyone agreed except Kiba and Kankurou.

"To the bar!" Kiba exclaimed as he took the lead to the bar.

"Can't we just go home now and change. It's weird walking around the village in a wedding dress." Sakura whined.

"No, all of you lost Naruto, it's your responsibility to find him. Besides your the only one to blame for wearing a wedding dress, now own it." Gaara said making Sakura groan.

"Now you know how I felt when I had to walk through the village looking like a clown." Shikamaru said amused.

"You should really stop referring to my face paint as that of a clowns." Kankurou said not amused.

"You know that's not going to happen." Shikamaru said bluntly.

They walked towards the bar they were in last night with a fast past, anxious whether they'd finally find the missing Hokage or not. They reached the bar and looked around, searching for the blond.

"Uhm excuse me." The waiter of last night said catching their attention.

"Does he belong to you?" She asked pointing at someone behind the wall.

"Yes! We found him!" Kiba exclaimed as they rounded the corner and saw Naruto sleeping in one of the booths.

"Thank goodness." Hinata sighed, relieved that Naruto was okay.

"I found my shoe." Shikamaru said happily as he picked his shoe up.

"What the hell is your shoe doing here?" Sakura asked with a frown while Shikamaru only shrugged.

"Stripper." Kiba whispered loudly, making Shikamaru roll his eyes.

"We should get Naruto home." Hinata said.

"I'll carry him." Gaara said not lifting a finger as his sand scooped Naruto up.

"Does that mean we can go?" Sakura asked with hope in her voice.

"Yes." Gaara replied walking out the bar followed by Kankurou, Hinata and Shikamaru.

"Thank you." Sakura said exaggerated as she left the bar.

"Congratulations by the way." The waitress called with a happy smile making Sakura look at her with confusion.

"She's congratulating us on our marriage." Sasuke clarified slightly amused.

"Oh. Why are you so amused? I thought you'd be annoyed with us getting drunk married." Sakura said looking up at Sasuke as they all stood outside the bar, but Sasuke gave her no answer he only shrugged.

However, Sakura suddenly frowned as her eyes became unfocused and far away, which made Hinata frown as she realised the sudden shift in her mood.

"Sasuke..." Sakura said softly as she gripped the fabric of his shirt with her left hand.

"I know." Sasuke said calmly as he wrapped his left arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a hug.

He then used his teleportation Jutsu and teleported them away, which confused Kankurou. Seconds later they heard a huge crash which made them turn to the direction to see several trees in the forest fall over as a dust cloud floated to the sky.

"What was that?" Kankurou asked seriously, expecting it to be a threat.

"It was Sakura." Shikamaru said seriously.

"Why?" Kankurou asked confused as he relaxed.

"She has a bad case of delusions." Hinata said sadly.

"How unfortunate." Gaara said.

"Follow me, I'll take you to Naruto's apartment." Hinata said as she leaded the way to Naruto's apartment with Kankurou next to her while Gaara lagged behind in the group with Naruto.

Shikamaru slowed his pace so he could walk next to Gaara.

"I know why you're here." Shikamaru said as he walked with Gaara.

"I know." Gaara said without any emotion at all.

"Let her stay Gaara. Sakura is the best medic nin out there." Shikamaru said.

"I'm afraid she'll stay here if she does indeed wake up here." Gaara said with a ghost of a smile before he fastened his pace to walk in front of Shikamaru.

Signalling that he is not willing to negotiate. Shikamaru stopped walking and watched the group walk away. His friends did a good job in distracting him and making him laugh for a while, but now he was serious again.

Shikamaru lit a cigarette as he turned around and walked to the hospital. She wouldn't be in Konoha much longer. Shikamaru put out the cigarette before he entered her room and walked to her hospital bed. However, he stopped halfway as something caught his eye.

"I found my other shoe..." Shikamaru said to himself as he took his shoe.

He knew if Temari was awake he'd never hear the end of it...

* * *

 **A/N:** **Yaaay** **another chapter. I really enjoyed writing this chapter, it was amusing** **af… And have to say Sasuke and Sakura's part was my favourite. I didn't have** **a song** **today for this chapter so I chose this song because it is awesome and I love it. You all should listen to it!**

 **I hoped you like the chapter as much as I did :)**


	39. 2 YEARS LATER

_**"We now full well there's just time. So is it wrong to toss this line? If your heart was full of love, could you give it up? 'Cause what about, what about angels? They will come, they will go, make us special." - Not about angels,**_ _**Birdy**_

* * *

Two years has passed since the war between Konoha and Kabuto. Since the disappearances...

A lot has happened in those two years. Hinata got married to Naruto right after the birth of their strong baby boy. Tenten gave birth to her twins, Aika and Satoru. Well, Satoru was his birth name but Lee renamed him to Metal Lee and everyone just kind of went with it. Satoru was born with Neji's dark brown hair and Tenten's chocolate brown eyes, as well as Tenten's playful side. He was going to get along well with Lee. Tenten could tell, even if he was just two years old.

Aika, on the other hand, had the Hyuga's white eyes while she had Tenten's light brown hair and Neji's serious nature. Tenten struggled to look after the busy twins and run her weapon shop on her own, but luckily for her Lee was always there to help her out and look after her and her kids. Lee took it upon himself to fill Neji's role after he died. But Tenten could never forget Neji, she still visited his grave regularly with her kids and sometimes with Lee and Hinata.

Everyone was happy about the war that's ended but sad about the losses.

After Karui got released from the hospital Sakura told her to stay in the village for a week because she didn't want her travelling just yet so Chouji offered for her to stay with him and she just never moved out or went back to her village. She just simply stayed in leaf with Chouji.

Ino found out she was pregnant a few weeks after the night everyone got drunk. That's why they only got married this year, Ino wanted a perfect, big, white wedding and she didn't want to look fat on her wedding day. Nine months after the drinking game Ino gave birth to a baby boy named Inojin, he looked like Sai but had Ino's blond hair and green eyes. His personality was also more like Sai.

Sasuke and Sakura stayed married after the night everyone got drunk, even though they got married because they were drunk. However, there was indeed a man that did report his jewellery shop robbed so Naruto gave Sasuke a choice, pay for the rings or give it back. So Sasuke begrudgingly paid for the rings much to Sakura's amusement.

Shortly after that Sasuke decided to go on another journey, but this time he allowed Sakura to come with him. No one has seen or heard from them in the past two years and no one knew when they'll come back. Not even Naruto. Kiba met a girl while he and Shino were searching for a wedding present for Hinata.

Her name Tamaki. They spent more time together after Naruto's wedding and eventually started dating, which Shikamaru found conflicting since Kiba love dogs and dislike cats and Tamaki love cats and dislike dogs. But somehow they made it work and was now living together with all Kiba's dogs and all Tamaki's cats.

Nobody knew about Shino's love life, it was a complete mystery to everyone...

As for Shikamaru, he was completely alone. He took on more missions than usual to keep himself busy. However, most of the missions he chose were missions that made him go to Suna. After Naruto recovered from his hangover, Gaara notified them that he'd be taking Temari back to Suna. She's been in a coma for two years now...

As for Shikamaru's genin team, Mirai and Chon were promoted to Chunin on their first try while Akira only got promoted to a Chunin the second try. Chon and Mirai had developed a rivalry towards one another that reminded Shikamaru slightly about Naruto and Sasuke's rivalry. Kurenai found it extremely cute though.

It's been two days that Shikamaru's been doing nothing. Naruto decided to give Shikamaru a break since he had been doing missions back to back. Each one of them challenging missions. Plus Shikamaru also did his office duties as well.

However, Naruto cut Shikamaru's break sort, which he found extremely strange. If Naruto thought Shikamaru needed a break he'd never cut it short to give him more work. But he didn't complain. For once in his life, he embraced the work.

The work kept his mind busy.

Shikamaru walked to Naruto's office with his hands in his pockets. It was a beautiful day in Konoha. The sky was a bright blue and the cool wind broke the heat. It was now summer in Konoha and the forest was a deep green. Shikamaru stopped walking and looked at the flowers that grew on the ground next to the road he travelled.

Temari would've loved these flowers.

She always did love the flowers that grew in Konoha.

Shikamaru sighed and started walking again.

"Shikamaru!" A familiar troublesome voice called from his left.

"Ino." Shikamaru greeted as he turned his head to the side.

Ino smiled brightly as she walked slowly over to Shikamaru holding little Inojin's hand as he walked next to her. She looked happy.

"Say hi to uncle Shikamaru, Inojin." Ino said with a smile as she looked lovingly down at her baby boy.

Inojin looked shyly at Shikamaru and shied away behind Ino as he peeked around her at Shikamaru. Ino laughed at him while Shikamaru smiled.

"Seems like he took more from his father than his mother." Shikamaru chuckled while Ino laughed.

"Seems so." Ino said looking at Inojin.

"Where are you heading Shikamaru?" Ino asked looking back up at Shikamaru.

"To Naruto's office." Shikamaru said as he started walking.

Ino took a step to follow but stopped when Inojin tugged on her skirt. Ino smiled at him then picked him up. He must be tired from all the walking.

"What are you going to do there? I thought you had a few days off." Ino asked as she walked with Shikamaru.

"I do, but Naruto wants to see me for some reason." Shikamaru said, but he didn't sigh like he would normally do.

"Mmm, I wonder..." Ino mused as she trailed off.

"What?" Shikamaru asked curiously.

"Did Naruto tell you Hinata is pregnant again?" Ino asked looking over at Shikamaru who stumbled from surprise which made Inojin laugh.

"I'm glad you find this funny little guy." Shikamaru said at a laughing Inojin which made Ino laugh as well.

"But are you being serious Ino?" Shikamaru asked as he recovered.

"As serious as I can be. I overheard Hinata telling Tenten." Ino said with a grin.

"Eavesdropping is not okay Ino." Shikamaru said scolding her.

"Hey, I didn't eavesdrop. I just _accidentally_ overheard." Ino said rolling her eyes.

"Don't grow up to be like your mom Inojin, she's a bad influence." Shikamaru said looking at Inojin.

"Don't listen to him honey, he's just a grumpy old man." Ino said making Shikamaru roll his eyes.

"You know what else I'm wondering about?" Ino asked looking at Shikamaru.

"I think I do..." Shikamaru said with a sigh.

"Well, I'm telling you anyway. When the hell is Chouji going to make Karui pregnant. Inojin needs a playmate." Ino said pouting.

"Stop pressuring the guy. He'll marry her when he decides and they'll have a baby on their own time. Besides what's wrong with Baruto, Aika and Satoru?" Shikamaru said with a raised eyebrow.

"Nothing." Ino said still pouting.

They stopped in front of the entrance as a familiar figure exited. Sai walked the path that exited from the Hokage's office to the streets of Konoha.

"Look who's here Inojin, it's daddy!" Ino exclaimed as Inojin grinned.

Ino took Inojin and placed him on the floor. Inojin ran as fast as his little feet could carry him to Sai. Sai genuinely smiled as he bent down and picked Inojin up, spinning him in the air as he squealed with laughter. Sai smiled as he rested Inojin on his hip while Ino walked over.

"Hey, honey." Ino said as she kissed Sai.

"What brings you here?" Sai asked.

"I was talking with Shikamaru." Ino said beckoning to Shikamaru.

"Oh hello, Shikamaru." Sai greeted.

"Hey, Sai." Shikamaru greeted back.

"Let's go. We'll see you around Shikamaru." Ino said as she waved at him and left with Sai and Inojin.

Shikamaru felt a pang in his heart as he watched them leave. He missed Temari. Shikamaru sighed and made his way to Naruto's office. He knocked on the door then entered.

"You summoned me?" Shikamaru asked as he entered Naruto office.

"Shikamaru! I've got a mission for you." Naruto said with a grin while Shikamaru just frowned, he knew something Shikamaru didn't...

"After you delivered the scroll you can stay in Suna for as long as you'd like." Naruto said making Shikamaru raise an eyebrow, now he was suspicious...

However, he didn't ponder on it. Shikamaru just sighed without asking what he knew.

"Congratulations by the way..." Shikamaru said before he turned to leave the office.

"For what?" Naruto asked heavily confused.

"Hinata's pregnancy." Shikamaru clarified with a raised eyebrow.

Naruto's eyes widened as he dropped the pen he was holding.

"What?" Naruto asked stunned.

"Wait, you didn't know?" Shikamaru asked surprised while Naruto shook his head slowly.

"Where did you hear that?" Naruto asked recovering from his shock.

"Ino told me. She overheard Hinata telling Tenten." Shikamaru said.

"Why didn't she tell me?" Naruto said slightly hurt.

"I don't know, maybe she was nervous." Shikamaru said with a shrug.

"But why?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know, ask her." Shikamaru said nonchalantly as he started to leave the office.

However, before Shikamaru could leave there was a knock on the door and two people entered. Two people, they haven't seen in a while.

"Sasuke, Sakura." Naruto said with a smile as they entered the office.

"Hi, Naruto and Shikamaru." Sakura said with a smile as Shikamaru greeted back.

Shikamaru stopped as he looked at the couple. Surprised by their sudden appearance. Shikamaru noticed that Sakura's hair is longer now, guess she's growing out her hair now.

"It's been a while Sasuke." Naruto said with a smile has he leant back in his chair.

"It has." Sasuke said with a slight smirk back.

At this moment Shikamaru's eyes caught sight of a small child squirming behind Sakura. Shikamaru blinked at the child a few times until realisation dawned on him. Shikamaru gaped at the child as he dropped the scroll he was holding.

"Naruto there's someone I'd like you to meet." Sakura grinned as she stepped to the side and beckoned a black haired girl forward gently.

"This is Sarada. Sarada Uchiha..." Sakura said with a smile while Naruto blinked at the child.

"She's our daughter." Sasuke said bluntly to clarify.

"What?! When did this happen?" Naruto exclaimed in shock as he fell out his chair making Sarada smile from amusement.

Shikamaru recovered from his shock and picked the scroll he was supposed to deliver to Gaara back up.

"She's currently 1 year old. I'm sure you can do the math Naruto." Sakura said with a sigh.

"So you were travelling while you were pregnant?" Shikamaru asked while Naruto sat back in his chair again and shook his head disappointingly at Sasuke making Sasuke roll his eyes.

"Yes, we went slow and when I was heavily pregnant we stayed at one of Orochimaru's old hideouts with Karin and Suigetsu. Karin helped me conceive Sarada." Sakura explain.

"Careful Sakura, Naruto doesn't understand such big words." Sasuke said making Naruto glare at him.

"Shut up Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed furiously at Sasuke.

"If you make Sarada cry Naruto, I will physically hurt you." Sakura threatened.

"Idiots like Naruto can't make Sarada cry. She's an Uchiha." Sasuke smirked as he picked Sarada up making her giggle.

By now Naruto was fuming in his chair.

"Just let it go Naruto. I'm going on missions now." Shikamaru said with a sigh as he left.

"We'll be taking our leave as well. It's good seeing you again Naruto." Sakura said with a smile as she waved goodbye and left with her husband and daughter.

Shikamaru walked with his hands in his pockets to Tenten's weapon shop. He needed a few things before he left. Shikamaru walked silently alone until he entered the weapon shop, immediately being met with a slight glare from the toddler sitting on the counter where Tenten stood. There was no doubt in Shikamaru's mind that Aika was Neji's daughter, they had the same glare...

"Ah, Shikamaru. What can I help you with?" Tenten asked with a smile.

"I'm just here to get some kunai. Does she glare at everyone who enters or just me?" Shikamaru asked with a raised eyebrow as he pointed to the toddler, the toddler really reminded Shikamaru of Neji on his bad days.

"She's just grumpy today, don't take it personally." Tenten said laughing.

Shikamaru went to get some kunai when he noticed that there was a child missing.

"Hey Tenten, where's little Lee?" Shikamaru asked confused as he looked around.

"Metal Lee." Lee said out of nowhere as he sped past the shop, walking on his hands.

Shikamaru could've sworn that he saw Satoru sitting on Lee's feet as he walked on his hands.

"His name is Satoru, dammit." Tenten said exaggerated as she rubbed her temple.

"Where is he?" Shikamaru asked curiously.

"Lee decided to do laps on his hands around the village with Satoru on his feet." Tenten said rolling her eyes.

"Aren't you scared that Lee will drop him?" Shikamaru asked paying for the kunai.

"No, I've been carried like that before and he didn't drop me once. Besides he promised Neji that he'll look after them so he won't let Satoru get hurt. He keeps his promise." Tenten said with complete faith in Lee.

"I see. Have you heard?" Shikamaru asked out the blue with a slight smile.

"This must be good if you sound like Ino..." Tenten said interested as she waited for Shikamaru to continue.

"Sasuke and Sakura is back in the village." Shikamaru said.

"Oh, they're back?" Tenten asked surprised.

"Yes, and they came back with a kid. But not any kid, their kid." Shikamaru said as Tenten's jaw dropped.

"You're lying." Tenten said shocked.

"No." Shikamaru said amused.

"Wait until Ino hears about this." Tenten said while she laughed.

"I'll see you around Tenten." Shikamaru said as he took his stuff and left.

"Bye, Shikamaru." Tenten said, waving to him as he left.

Shikamaru walked to his apartment to gather some things then locked his door and headed to the gate of Konoha. He greeted Kotetsu and Izumo as he walked by then left the leaf village for Suna.

It took him three days and three nights to travel from the leaf village to the sand village. Once he stepped out of the forest line and into the desert he could feel the restless wind slamming into his body.

The trees stopped and sand formed beneath his feet with each step he took. The green leafs from the forest slowly disappearing as he entered the desert. Gaara probably knew he was here. That's how in tune Gaara was with the desert that surrounded his village.

The wind swirled around in the desert picking up sand and throwing it against Shikamaru's exposed skin. The wind wasn't usually this restless when he was visiting Suna.

Shikamaru walked through the scorching desert with one hand in his pocket while he used the other one to smoke his cigarette. Shikamaru stopped at the passage that led to Suna. He took the cigarettes out his mouth and blew out the smoke in his lungs as he stared at the village that loomed over him.

Shikamaru sighed as he started walking through the passage to the village. He hasn't been to Suna in a month due to all the missions he went on and his duties to his village. It's been a month since he saw Temari's sleeping face and two years since he saw her beautiful teal eyes.

Those teal eyes that seemed to haunt him in his dreams. He really did miss her troublesome presence. He felt empty without her.

Shikamaru walked through the desert village. The village where Temari was born and raised. He walked calmly through the village until he found himself in front of Gaara's office. Shikamaru knocked on the door then entered the office.

Gaara was sitting at his desk staring out the window behind him while his Kazekage hat rested on the desk. He wondered what got Gaara so deep in thought. Shikamaru expected Kankurou in the office as well, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Shikamaru." Gaara said as he turned in his chair to face Shikamaru, almost like he had expected Shikamaru to come to Suna.

"Naruto told me to deliver this scroll to you." Shikamaru said explaining why he was there.

However, Gaara didn't look remotely interested in the scroll. He just looked at Shikamaru. Shikamaru placed the scroll on his desk but Gaara didn't move to see the content of the scroll.

"Shikamaru..." Gaara said again in a gravely serious voice making Shikamaru look at Gaara.

"She's awake." Gaara said looking Shikamaru dead in the eye.

Shikamaru's eyes widened as the world around him stood still. His breathing ceased as his mind started reeling with what he had just heard.

"What?" Shikamaru gasped in disbelieve.

"Temari's awake. She woke up a few days ago." Gaara said seriously as he looked at Shikamaru.

Temari was awake. She was finally awake. It's been two long years since Temari went into a coma and now she's finally awake... The world seemed to have stood still as the two men stared at each other. Shikamaru silently turned around and left the office. Leaving Gaara to turn in his chair again and stare outside his window. Watching the sand still dancing in the agitated wind.

Shikamaru walked down the hall from the Kazekage's office to the hospital, but he couldn't take going so slow he wanted to get to the hospital as soon as possible. He wanted to see Temari. Soon his walk turned to a jog and his jog turned into a full on run.

Shikamaru rushed to the hospital he knew she was in. He rushed into the room he was countless times in before while she slept. He looked around the room but she wasn't there. Her bed was empty.

"Where is she?" Shikamaru asked urgently as he stalked over to a nearby nurse.

"She's on the roof." The nurse said looking up from her clipboard.

"Damn troublesome woman." Shikamaru grunted as he left the room in a hurry and headed to the roof.

What sane person was standing outside in this wind anyway? Shikamaru thought as he ran through the hospital.

Nurses and doctors yelled at him not to run in the hospital, but he ignored them as he continued running through the unknown halls. He sprinted through the twisting halls not knowing where the hell he was going but knew where he wanted to go. Shikamaru almost ran into someone in a wheelchair as he rounded a corner, but him being a ninja he easily dodged the man.

Shikamaru ran through the hospital for what felt like an eternity until he finally found the door that led to the roof. He saw the closed door for the roof at the end of the hall as he ran to it. The anticipation growing in the pit of Shikamaru's stomach. He knew they kept the door closed to prevent the sand from coming in the hospital. But he didn't care. He burst through the door and froze. Never bothering to close the door behind him.

Shikamaru's eyes widened as his eyes rested on Temari. She stood at the ledge and looked over the village as she leant on the railings. The wind danced with the sand around them. The wind up here was definitely stronger up her as the sand of the desert blended into the gust. Shikamaru watched her silently taking in all her glory.

It was one of those rare moments where Temari no Sabaku let her hair hang loose. Her hair had grown past her shoulders in the time she was in a coma. It was actually quite long now but Shikamaru knew she'd cut it short as soon as she could. But for now, she just left it while it was being carried around by the wind. She wore a white hospital gown the hospital made her wear without any shoes.

She still had her back to him which made him able to see the back of her neck. Her curse mark was gone.

"Temari." Shikamaru breathed.

He didn't think she heard him, but she turned around none the less at the sound of her name. Their eyes locked when her teal eyes found his brown eyes.

"I remember everything." Temari said softly as they stood rooted to their spots.

Shikamaru was the first to move from his spot as he walked to her.

"I've done terrible things these past years, I've even killed Neji. And that kid..." Temari said trailing off as she looked at the ground.

Shikamaru embraced her as soon as he was close enough. Tears swelled in Temari's eyes as she hugged him back while clutching the fabric on Shikamaru's back.

"It's okay, I'm here now." Shikamaru whispered on top of her head as he held her close to him.

She nodded her head and nuzzled her head into his chest, making her feel slightly better but it didn't make the guild go away. The desert wind stilled slightly and the village was calm.

"I love you." She whispered tightening her hold on him.

"I love you too, troublesome woman." He said as he smiled at her.

This time he'll keep her safe. He'd never let her go again…

* * *

 **A/N:** **So funny story… this was the last chapter… I know this is without any warning but yeah. I actually planned the next one to be the last one, but then I merged it with this one so it won't be too short. But look on the bright side, I didn't leave you guys on a cliff hanger…**

 **But don't cry too much because there is still going to be an epilogue. It's not going to be a long one, it's just a small chapter that I couldn't bring over my heart to never publish. Plus it'll explain Chon's origin, so to say…**

 **Oh** **,** **and does somebody have a nice anime they can recommend because I'm currently waiting for fairy tail and** **noragami** **to release its new episodes so yeah...**


	40. Epilogue

_**"I'm on the pursuit of happiness and I know everything that shine ain't always gonna be gold, hey. I'll be fine once I get it, yeah. I'll be good." - Pursuit of Happiness, Kid**_ _ **Cudi**_

* * *

 _These things that happened..._  
 _She can never go back. It took her a while, but she began to live again..._

"I will not be training you today." Shikamaru said with his hands in his pockets.

Although all the members of his team were chunin now and could train on their own. Shikamaru trained them every now and then to help them to develop their Jutsu's and to help their teamwork improve.

"Why not?" Mirai exclaimed in outrage as well as confusion.

"He's probably too lazy." Chon mumbled under his breath, but Shikamaru ignored him.

"Because it's good experience for you to train with other Jonin. They can teach you things that they specialise in. I can't teach you the stuff I specialise in since its a clan Jutsu." Shikamaru shrugged.

"But..." Mirai started, but a certain individual interrupted her.

"No buts my youthful student. Today I will be training you!" Lee exclaimed as he appeared next to Shikamaru who was struggling to contain the smirk that was forming on his mouth.

Chon's eyes widened as his face turned to one of horror.

"Not him." The three genin gasped together in horror.

"No! Shikamaru-sensei, please! Anyone, but him! I promise I'll behave myself!" Chon cried out as he latched himself onto Shikamaru's leg while he begged.

"Get off me." Shikamaru said as he pried Chon of his leg and handed him to Lee.

Lee took the kid and placed him next to his teammates again while Chon cried silently on the inside. Knowing how gruelling Lee's training is from first-hand experience.

"Enjoy!" Shikamaru called out amused to no end as he waved at them while he walked away, not able to contain his evil smile anymore.

"Hey, lazy ass! You're supposed to teach them yourself, not try and kill them." A woman's voice laughed as she entered the clearing in the forest.

"It's good for them troublesome woman." Shikamaru replied back.

Chon turned to the source of the voice. His eyes widened and the world around him faded away. It was her. The monster if his nightmares. He watched her with wide eyes as hatred started blinding him. He walked slowly in her direction.

"Chon?" Mirai asked confused.

Chon ignored her as his eyes narrowed in hatred, not wavering from his target. He will kill her. He grabbed his kunai as his face darkened.

"I will kill you!" Chon exclaimed in rage as he dashed towards Temari.

Temari turned her head in confusion and saw the kunai in the boy's hand. Her face turned focused as she widened her stance and stood ready to protect herself. She couldn't grab her fan or a kunai because she didn't bring any of them with her. However, as he stretched his arm for a killing blow he was stopped. Lee grabbed him in a chokehold from behind but didn't restrict his air in the slightest while Shikamaru stood next to him with one hand in his pocket and the other one gripping his arm with the Kunai. His shadow ready to catch the boy at any moment.

Temari relaxed and stood to her full height. She was confused why the boy would want to kill her, but not surprised. She did terrible things in her past...

"It was you! You did it!" Chon screamed as tears brimmed in his eyes.

"What did I do?" Temari asked, knowing he was a victim from one of her despicable acts.

She just wanted to know which one.

"Don't try and deny it! You were the one who burnt down my village! You killed them all! However it wasn't enough for you, was it? You still had to come after us and kill my parents! Even though we escaped and caused you no threat!" Chon screamed in anger as tears streamed down his face as he remembered every detail of what happened that night.

The night his village was burned down by Temari 6 years ago. Nobody in Chon's village thought that the beautiful woman that walked into their village that fated night would be their destruction...

Mirai, Akira and Lee's eyes widened in shock from Chon's statement while Shikamaru looked over at Temari for confirmation, but she didn't meet his eyes which made Shikamaru's eyes soften, he knew she still felt guilty about what she did all those years back...

Temari scowled as she watched the ground. She still remembered that village.

Orochimaru wanted to test her so he sent her to kill all the villagers as well as the children. She was to let no one survive. So she burned down that whole village, but somehow that kid and his parents escaped from her. They fled to the land of warriors. But she still found them and she killed his parents.

But when she wanted to kill the boy she couldn't. So she left him there and told Orochimaru he escaped from her. He wasn't happy, but he let her be and sent someone else. But the boy grew smarter and manage to allude them all.

"I'm not denying it. What I did was unforgivable and no excuse I make will make it any less unforgivable. So I'm not going to make excuses. I'm also not expecting you to forgive me. But I do hope you find peace and let go of your hatred." Temari said sadly meeting Chon's angry, sad eyes.

"Why didn't you kill me as well? You had the perfect opportunity. Both my parents were dead and I was helpless with grieve. I was at your mercy." The boy said sobbing.

"I couldn't. You triggered something familiar from my memory when I had no memories." Temari replied, Chon was curious why she said she didn't have memories, but he didn't care at that moment.

He hated her.

"I'll kill you and everyone you love just like you did to my parents and friends." Chon said softly.

"You're not prepared for that boy. My brother is the Kazekage and my other brother is his bodyguard. My friends are your teachers and Hokage and my husband is your sensei and team leader. Are you prepared to kill them all?" Temari said her face going serious.

"But I'll strike you a deal kid. One day when you're strong I'll fight you." Temari smiled softly making his eyes widen slightly.

"I'm strong now." Chon replied his tears subsiding.

"I'm sure you are kid, but I'm pregnant right now. So that's not going to work." Temari chuckled as she placed a hand on her swollen tummy.

Chon's eyes widened. He didn't even realise she was pregnant. He could've killed a totally innocent baby.

"I'll be taking my leave now. See you later Shikamaru." Temari smiled as she walked away.

"Let it go, Chon, you'll never defeat her." Mirai sighed as she walked over to them.

"Yeah, she's really strong." Akira said with a sigh.

"Let him fight her one day, but I'm going to tell you this Chon. She's defeated a lot of strong opponents. She defeated me in the Chunin exams~" Shikamaru started but got interrupted as he let go of Chon.

"She won because you gave up." Lee interrupted bluntly making Mirai and Akira burst out laughing.

"Anyway. She defeated one of the sound four when we were kids. She defeated Tenten, Ino and Chouji. She killed one of the Hyuga's best fighters, Orochimaru and the fourth Tshuchikage." Shikamaru said with a sigh.

"How can you love someone who killed so much innocent people?" Chon asked disgusted.

"Because that isn't who she is. The only reason she killed so many people was because she lost her memories and was manipulated by Orochimaru." Shikamaru answered as he turned to leave as well.

He wanted to catch up to Temari who already left the training field. He knew she wasn't helpless when she was pregnant, she could still swing her fan to hit him when he did something wrong, but he wanted to make sure she was okay.

Chon scoffed then turned around to leave, however, he was quickly stopped by Lee who grabbed the back of his shirt, pulling him back.

"Where are you going, young man? You don't want to miss today's youthful training!" Lee exclaimed excitedly while the kids started to cry.

"Why do you hate me?" Chon asked as tears streamed down his face.

After a gruelling workout session with Lee, he finally let the chunin go when the sun started setting, even though they could hardly walk.

The Chunin laid in a circle on their backs panting hard while Lee sped away to go irritate someone else or visit his sensei, who's just as bad as him.

"I can't feel my legs." Mirai said bluntly.

"I can't move my legs." Akira said just as bluntly as Mirai.

"You guys are pansies." Chon said as he sat up with a grunt.

"Shut up Chon." Mirai exclaimed irritated, she would've thrown something at him if her arms weren't sore as well.

"Where are you going?" Akira asked curiously as Chon stood up on his wobbly legs.

Chon recovered faster than Mirai and Akira because he used to train with Lee and his body grew used to the training.

"Nowhere." Chon replied with his back to them.

"If you're trying to look cool it's not working. Those wobbly legs of yours takes the coolness away." Mirai said with a smirk.

Chon stopped as he scowled.

"No one asked your opinion Mirai!" Chon exclaimed as he turned around to glare at her before turning back around and trotted away.

"So you're saying he'd look cool if his legs didn't wobble?" Akira asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That's not what I was saying!" Mirai exclaimed with a slight blush.

Chon walked through the village with his hands in his pockets. Still angry that the woman who murdered his whole village was walking around freely. The sun started to go down as Chon walked through the village.

She was the cause of all his sadness.

Chon was so in thought that he walked straight into someone, causing him to stumble back while the figure didn't even budge.

"You should watch where you're going, kid." The voice said calmly as Chon looked up at him.

"Whatever." Chon scoffed.

"You must be Chon Uzumaki." The dark haired man said.

"How do you know who I am?" Chon asked narrowing his eyes, he didn't trust him.

"I've heard of you from Naruto." The man answered.

"Who are you?" Chon asked.

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke answered.

"You should let go of what happened in the past." Sasuke said as he looked at the kid.

"You don't know anything about me." Chon said glaring at Sasuke.

"I do actually. I heard what happened to you." Sasuke answered bluntly.

"From who?" Chon asked.

"Shikamaru told Ino then Ino told everyone." Sasuke said.

"That sounds just about right." Chon said with a sweat drop.

"Yes, Shikamaru is probably going to regret that later. Dealing with a pregnant kunoichi is not easy." Sasuke said as he went bleak at the memory of when Sakura craved ice cream when she was pregnant.

It did not end well and mountains were destroyed, Sasuke was almost destroyed along with them. But where do you find ice cream in the middle of nowhere...

Chon's face darkened as he thought of Temari again.

"She killed everyone I knew and burnt my village down then killed my parents. She's a monster. A demon. I'll kill her myself when I see her again." Chon said as he balled his fists.

"Let go of your hatred and revenge. You don't want to go down that road. It's a lonely and miserable road that won't bring you any happiness in the end." Sasuke said calmly.

"How do you know?" Chon asked his glare returning.

"I've been down that path myself." Sasuke said sadly as Chon watched him with wide eyes.

"It made me kill my brother, and I regret it every day. I also almost killed everyone I care about in this village as well, luckily Naruto was there stop me and guide me to the light." Sasuke said with a small smile.

"The Hokage?" Chon asked in awe.

"That's the one." Sasuke said with a smiled.

 **xXx**

 _Somewhere in the near future:_

It was a peaceful day in Konoha while Temari sat at the table with her brothers, Shikamaru and Shikadai as they ate dinner.

Her brothers were visiting for a few days for kage stuff and decided to stay with Temari and Shikamaru while they were there.

"Mom, is it really true that you were the fifth Tsuchikage?" Shikadai asked with wide curious eyes as he looked over at his mom while Kankurou started choking on his food.

"Now that brings back some memories." Shikamaru said amused.

"Where'd you hear that?" Temari asked Shikadai surprised.

"Uncle Kankurou told me." Shikadai shrugged.

"Of course he did." Temari replied bluntly as she glared at Kankurou.

"It's said that your mother was a tyrant when she was Tsuchikage." Shikamaru said as he sat on the dining room chair, moving away from Temari because he knew he was asking to be smacked.

"That sounds about right." Shikadai laughed as his father laughed with him.

"That's not true! Who told you that nonsense?" Temari exclaimed in outrage.

"Kiba." Shikamaru said with a smirk.

"He's still going on about that? I didn't even do anything tyrannical! That little dog lover should show some gratitude. I busted him out of prison after all." Temari scoffed in annoyance.

 _A few days later:_

"Hey, mom?" Shikadai called from outside.

"What is it, honey?" Temari asked as she walked to the back door.

"I found this talking head in the woods..." Shikadai said awkwardly just as Temari walked outside.

Shikadai had no idea what to think about this talking head while Temari blinked at it. However, Temari got a dark glint in her eyes as she smiled evilly, making Shikadai sweat drop and the head to gulp.

"What's going on?" Shikamaru asked as he walked to his family.

"Shikadai found Hidan's head." Temari said flatly as Shikamaru's eyes landed on the head inside his son's hand.

"You know this guy?" Shikadai asked surprised while Shikamaru sighed and nodded.

"Stay right there Shikadai! I'm just going to fetch my fan." Temari said with a huge grin as she spun around and ran into the house.

"Oh no." Hidan said with a groan, knowing this isn't going to end well.

"Temari I know what you're thinking and it's a bad idea." Shikamaru called inside the house to Temari, but she ignored him flatly.

"Okay, Shikadai let's play a game of baseball." Temari smirked as she rested her fan on her shoulder.

"What?" Shikadai asked confused.

"Temari..." Shikamaru said trying to talk reason into his wife, but was interrupted.

"Shut up Shikamaru. Just throw the head Shikadai." Temari said going in a batting stance.

"Troublesome." Shikadai mumbled under his breath as he threw the head to his mother.

"No, have mercy!" Hidan exclaimed in horror.

Temari swung her fan and smacked Hidan's head, making his head fly high in the air and into the forest.

"You know we have to go and find his head now, right?" Shikamaru said to Temari with a sigh.

"Wrong. You have to go and find his head. I'm busy." Temari said making Shikamaru rub his temples in frustration.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru said quietly in fear of his wife.

"What were you doing in the forest anyway Shikadai?" Temari asked curiously knowing her son is too lazy to wander the forest on his own.

"About that..." Shikadai said laughing nervously.

"What did you do?" Temari asked with a stern expression.

"I didn't do anything, I was just trying to keep Boruto out of trouble..." Shikadai said defensively.

"Don't stop now, keep going..." Temari said with one hand on her hip and the other one on her fan.

"Boruto wanted to play a prank on his dad and he heard about a talking head in our clan's forest. He thought it'll be funny to leave the head on the Hokage's desk. I didn't believe the story until we actually found the head... So I brought the head back home when we found it." Shikadai said with a sigh, it was troublesome to get the head away from boruto.

"That's a very dangerous head, Shikadai. I don't want you to have contact with that he'd ever again." Temari said sternly making Shikadai nod in fear of her.

"Now help your father find the head." Temari said as she walked inside the house to put her fan away.

"But you're the one who made it fly away." Shikadai exclaimed.

"If I were you I'd listen to your mother." Shikamaru said amused.

"Troublesome." Shikadai said as he walked inside the house to the front door.

Shikamaru laughed as he walked to the bedroom he shared with Temari. He knew she'd be there because that's where she kept her beloved fan. She didn't use it much these days so it mostly just stayed in her closest. Shikamaru smiled as he walked towards Temari. He stood behind her then wrapped his arms around her waist while he rested his head on her shoulder.

"You really are the most troublesome woman I've ever met." Shikamaru said with a smile as she intertwined her hands with his while she laughed.

"That's why you love me." Temari said as she let go of his hands and turned around in his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Shikamaru kissed her as he held her close to him.

"Don't you have head to find? Your son is waiting for you." Temari said as she broke the kiss making Shikamaru chuckled slightly even if she was being troublesome.

However, Shikamaru's smile never fell. His smile remained. 

* * *

**A/N: So yeah, I really didn't want to delete this because I couldn't bring it** **over** **my heart, so I tried to modify it to fit an epilogue. So yeah some of the details are off but I'm not going to dwell on where for those who didn't realise it** **This chapter is supposed to be light-hearted...**


	41. AN

_**"The sea wants to kiss the golden shore. The sunlight warms your skin. All the beauty that's been lost before wants to find us again." - Ordinary love, U2**_

* * *

This is officially the end of Remember me. It was a blessing to be able to write this story. I loved every moment of writing this story and I loved reading everyone's comment.

Thank you for reading this story, you've made it more enjoyable for me to write this story and you were also my motivation to keep writing. I thought I was going to just stop like I do with other things, but I never stopped I stayed committed and I'm proud of that ㈶1

It's amazing to think that I've been writing this story for like a year now... It's going to feel so weird not writing or editing this story...

However, this is not the end I will continue writing and I will probably post another shikatema story in the future. But not now. The next story I'll be posting is a fanfic of fairy tail.

I'm not yet completely sure of its name, but so far I like the **valley of fears** (Yes I did watch a terrible cartoon version of Sherlock Holmes and that's where I got the name). It's a  gajevy fanfic and I think it'll actually be quite similar to forget me and remember me. So if you're interested, you should look out for when it's posted.

The story will be up soon ㈴2

(If I go according to my plans, which I think you've realised I don't usually do)

Love ❤  
 _11Ava11_


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